Harlan Kirgan
The Eunice celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a unique speaker, Donald Washington, director of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Washington heads the nation’s oldest law enforcement service and prior to that was U.S. Attorney for Western Louisiana, which includes Lafayette, Shreveport, Alexandria, Monroe and Lake Charles.
King provided the foundation for his life, he said. “I think the same is true for you that the foundations of my life were laid by Dr. Martin Luther King.”
Washington spoke Saturday at New Zion Baptist Church as part of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. City-Wide Celebration.
King had a concept of fairness, quality and opportunity for all, he said.
Washington traced King’s teachings through the Beatitudes
King was a man of God, faith, hope and love for all mankind, he said.
“In the past days it took great courage to live the life of Dr. Martin Luther King,” he said.
King lived a life of non-violence until he was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 39.
Washington widened the King legacy. “Our fathers, our mothers, our grandmothers and grandfathers, our great-grandparents, great-great grandparents, I got to tell you, ee had to come here today in the rain, but they were tough people. They maintained incredible hope and enduring courage.”
He added, “Let’s remember them as well because they laid it on the line.”
King had courage to be peaceful in the face of violence, he said.
“It took courage to stand up against bigotry, hatred and demand people are treated with dignity and respect,” he said.
Commenting that “Equal Justice Under the Law” is on the U.S. Supreme Court entrance, Washington said King pressed for a more perfect union.
“He was an ordinary man. He had a family. He was a pastor. He got thrown into controversy. He was an ordinary man, but he made extraordinary choices along the way,” he said.
King’s legacy forever changed the fabric of the nation, he said.
“He inspired generations of people many of whom are here today,” he said.
But Washington joined the Rev. Mack Frank, pastor of New Zion Baptist Church, in observing that whites were nearly absent from the audience.
Washington attributed his presence in Eunice to his friendship with Joe Lawrence, of Eunice.
“So, I will go back a ways. I was a federal prosecutor. He was a member of the New Black Panther Party. How was that going to turn out?” he said.
The friendship started in tense times after the Jena 6 incident in central Louisiana. Six black teens were accused of beating a white student. Nooses showed up on trees. Protesters arrived.
Lawrence was on the scene when Washington showed up with FBI agents and others.
Lawrence, clad in a New Black Panther uniform, introduced himself to Washington with, “I’m your security detail.”
Lawrence, he said, implored people to speak up and assert their rights. “As a result of that, the conversation began,” Washington said.
“I’m his big brother now,” he added.
At another protest, this time in Crowley, Washington said the district attorney was threatening to have Lawrence arrested.
“If I recall correctly, he turned to the sheriff and said ‘arrest them.’ The sheriff said, ‘For what?’”
Washington said, “That made me very proud of law enforcement that night.”
In returning to the King observance, Washington challenged the audience.
“The question that I have for you is ... what am I doing to continue the legacy of Dr. King? That’s my question for you.”
It is a collective responsibility to make sure there is fairness and respect for others and that justice for all is a real concept.
“We have to create more opportunity. We have to make sure our kids understand that the way forward in our nation is hard work. It is good grades. It is athletics. It is band. It is Boy Scouts. It is all of that stuff that makes a complete person,” he said.
Washington said doing one good deed a day is important.
“Do something to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King,” he said.
Civic engagement is one way to honor the legacy, he said.
King is an American hero, he said.
“The words he spoke were true. The came from his heart, from his mind. We cannot take a step backwards,” he said.
Who is
Donald Washington?
Director of the U.S. Marshals Service since March 2019. He is the 11th director the oldest law enforcement service in the nation’s history.
Washington directs a force of more than 5,000 operational and administrative employees spanning 94 districts, 218 sub-offices and four foreign field offices.
Washington is from Sulphur Springs, Texas, and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1977. He served in the U.S. Army as an air defense artillery officer both on active duty and in the U.S. Army Reserve. In 1989, he received his juris doctor from South Texas College of Law, Houston, Texas.
Eunice celebration
The Eunice Martin Luther King Jr. celebration’s theme was “We must be messengers of change having passion with purpose.”
Awards
Carlton Frank Jr. Humanitarian: the Rev. James Edwards, Bobbie Brown and Elliot Mitchell.
Messenger: Donald Washington.
Grand Marshal: Quint Doyle.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: the Rev. Kayla Givs.