Community Commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
The Committee To Commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. held a ceremony at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center in Winona Lake, attended by 600 people.
The annual Dr. MLK Jr. Scholarships were presented during the event. The scholarships were awarded to current senior students who demonstrate scholastic excellence and who encompass the heart of Dr. King through acts of community service and by enriching the lives of others.
Three WCHS seniors each received $300 including Louji Helser, Paul Marandet and Ophelia Luu.
Helser’s parents are Ryan and Veronica Helser. Helser would like to attend Ivy Tech or Grace College to study French to become a French teacher.
Luu’s parents are Cir Luc Luu and Guo Hui He and she plans to attend Indiana University to study health sciences and biology.
Marandet’s parents are Dr. Noe and Honorine Marandet. He would like to attend Indiana University South Band and would like to study business and entrepreneurship and play basketball at the next level overseas.
Charles Person, Atlanta, Ga., was the featured guest speaker for the event. Person is one of three living Civil Rights pioneers who participated in the original Freedom Rides to integrate interstate bus travel. His part in Civil Rights history influenced the policies and actions of the Kennedy administration and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Person attended the ceremony with his wife, Jo Etta, and thanked the community for having them.
“I have ribbons and medals for my chest, scars on my body and knots on my head. I am blessed, truly blessed because I am able to tell my story,” Person said.
At 18 years old, Person was the youngest member of the original 1961 Congress of Racial Equality Freedom Ride. He was a freshman at Atlanta’s Morehouse College.
While at Morehouse he became active in the Atlanta sit-in movement to desegregate lunch counters in early 1961 and was sentenced to 16 days in jail as a result.
Along with Jim Peck and Walter Bergman, Person was one of the most badly beaten of the Riders during the May 14, 1961, riot at the Birmingham Trailways Bus Station.
While he was on the bus he and the Freedom Riders were punched and pushed to the back of the bus and the bus was burned.
The Freedom Riders, including Person, escaped when a camera flash went off and startled the white men who were beating them.
“We went to the hospital, but were refused treatment because we were black,” Person said.
“I had a knot on my skull the size of my fist.”
He healed and went to New Orleans for a rally.
Richard Rooker, former Warsaw Community Schools teacher, asked Person a series of questions.
Rooker asked Person how faith played a role in his civil rights activism.
Person said the only place the Freedom Riders had control was within their churches.
“We blurred the lines of denominations which today I wish we could do again,” Person said. “Dr. King had the ability to transcend all those denominations.When he had a march he had rabbis, priests, reverends and ministers.”
Rooker said Person chose non-violence and asked what non-violence means to him.
“I chose non-violence as a way of life. Even as a marine I am an expert with the rifle and the pistol. I’m just as at home behind an AK-47 as my Bible,” Person said.
Person and his wife were presented with a glass pitcher made by Warsaw Cut Glass.
Edna Bruner was recognized for her last year of service as the committee’s treasurer.
Over 150 students from Kosciusko County performed in different parts of the celebration and attendees enjoyed a free boxed lunch. West Noble High School students gave a poetic reading.
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The Committee To Commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. held a ceremony at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center in Winona Lake, attended by 600 people.
The annual Dr. MLK Jr. Scholarships were presented during the event. The scholarships were awarded to current senior students who demonstrate scholastic excellence and who encompass the heart of Dr. King through acts of community service and by enriching the lives of others.
Three WCHS seniors each received $300 including Louji Helser, Paul Marandet and Ophelia Luu.
Helser’s parents are Ryan and Veronica Helser. Helser would like to attend Ivy Tech or Grace College to study French to become a French teacher.
Luu’s parents are Cir Luc Luu and Guo Hui He and she plans to attend Indiana University to study health sciences and biology.
Marandet’s parents are Dr. Noe and Honorine Marandet. He would like to attend Indiana University South Band and would like to study business and entrepreneurship and play basketball at the next level overseas.
Charles Person, Atlanta, Ga., was the featured guest speaker for the event. Person is one of three living Civil Rights pioneers who participated in the original Freedom Rides to integrate interstate bus travel. His part in Civil Rights history influenced the policies and actions of the Kennedy administration and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Person attended the ceremony with his wife, Jo Etta, and thanked the community for having them.
“I have ribbons and medals for my chest, scars on my body and knots on my head. I am blessed, truly blessed because I am able to tell my story,” Person said.
At 18 years old, Person was the youngest member of the original 1961 Congress of Racial Equality Freedom Ride. He was a freshman at Atlanta’s Morehouse College.
While at Morehouse he became active in the Atlanta sit-in movement to desegregate lunch counters in early 1961 and was sentenced to 16 days in jail as a result.
Along with Jim Peck and Walter Bergman, Person was one of the most badly beaten of the Riders during the May 14, 1961, riot at the Birmingham Trailways Bus Station.
While he was on the bus he and the Freedom Riders were punched and pushed to the back of the bus and the bus was burned.
The Freedom Riders, including Person, escaped when a camera flash went off and startled the white men who were beating them.
“We went to the hospital, but were refused treatment because we were black,” Person said.
“I had a knot on my skull the size of my fist.”
He healed and went to New Orleans for a rally.
Richard Rooker, former Warsaw Community Schools teacher, asked Person a series of questions.
Rooker asked Person how faith played a role in his civil rights activism.
Person said the only place the Freedom Riders had control was within their churches.
“We blurred the lines of denominations which today I wish we could do again,” Person said. “Dr. King had the ability to transcend all those denominations.When he had a march he had rabbis, priests, reverends and ministers.”
Rooker said Person chose non-violence and asked what non-violence means to him.
“I chose non-violence as a way of life. Even as a marine I am an expert with the rifle and the pistol. I’m just as at home behind an AK-47 as my Bible,” Person said.
Person and his wife were presented with a glass pitcher made by Warsaw Cut Glass.
Edna Bruner was recognized for her last year of service as the committee’s treasurer.
Over 150 students from Kosciusko County performed in different parts of the celebration and attendees enjoyed a free boxed lunch. West Noble High School students gave a poetic reading.
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