By Kim Hilsenbeck.
It was a day on, not a day off, for some San Marcos residents and guests who gathered under blue skies Monday morning in front of the Hays County Courthouse to celebrate the life and legacy of former civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
San Marcos Mayor Daniel Guerrero emphasized the importance of this federal holiday as a time to reflect on the past and future.
Guerrero said King, who combated racial inequality through organized, non-violent protests, inspired profound and lasting change in the nation.
The new memorial in San Marcos celebrates both MLK, Jr. and LBJ. (Photo by Kate Barton) |
These efforts, influenced by King’s religious and philosophical background, led to him becoming the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
That same year King was present in Washington, D.C. for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a bill that Texas State University, formerly Southwest Texas State Teachers College, alumnus and former U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed into law.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of that landmark legislation, which outlawed discrimination against race, ethnicity and sex.
Many Texas State representatives were present for the public observance.
Cheryl McWilliams-Lee, grant director for Texas State’s Student Support Services, served as the event’s master of ceremonies, introducing guest speaker Pamela Sattiewhite.
Clad in doctoral regalia, Sattiewhite discussed her personal ties to San Marcos that began with ancestral homes off Arizona Street and extended to stories about her late father, Roy, who left the city when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy.
Sattiewhite said she moved to San Diego at age three after her father died.
Like her father, Sattiewhite served in the U.S. Military and later earned a doctor of ministry degree, an achievement she credits to Johnson, who signed the Higher Education Act of 1965 on the Texas State campus.
“I don’t want to forget my history,” said Sattiewhite. “My mother was very gracious when my father was killed and she always reminded me of the great man my father was that I did not get an opportunity to know.”
Sattiewhite said she wore her doctoral ministry regalia to serve as an inspiration and a reminder that life is full of unlimited possibilities. She quoted Johnson by saying that “education is not a problem. Education is an opportunity.”
Sattiewhite noted that the day also marked Johnson’s inauguration anniversary.
“We all have pivotal moments in our lives...moments that are crossroads for each of us…,” Sattiewhite said.
Event attendees encountered a crossroads during the course of their journey on Monday when they walked or rode the Texas State bus to the intersection of MLK and LBJ drives for the unveiling of a public memorial that has been in the works since 2008.
The Crossroads Memorial, with six silver buttresses that contain inspirational words and support a mesh image above two benches, commemorates the relationship between King and Johnson.
It is also a testament to the Texas State, San Marcos and Hays County communities.
Hays County donated the 248-square-feet space for the memorial, while local fundraising efforts brought in $6,736 and the San Marcos Arts Commission contributed $100,000.
Baton Rouge-based artist Aaron Hussey said his design is based on the photo captured during a civil rights meeting by Yoichi Okamoto. Luci Baines Johnson, daughter of LBJ, said Okamoto lived with her family for five years.
That photograph captured the 1963 conversation between Johnson and King, hunched over in their seats.
“When a goal is set a journey begins,” Hussey said.
Texas State set a goal for the 2008-2009 academic year—a common experience that aimed for all students to become more civically responsible.
Texas State President Denise Trauth said the activities of Johnson and King had a profound impact on how the university exists today.
“San Marcos and Texas State University have a long history of celebrating the birthdays of these two leaders, and its most fitting that this memorial is erected at the intersection of the namesake streets,” she said.
King’s dream was not his alone, but shared by Johnson, a friend of his, and together they worked to make that dream into a reality, Luci Baines Johnson said.
The two men fought for a day when education, justice and economic opportunity are blind to skin color, Johnson said.
She recalled a time when she was on a road trip with her family as a child to D.C. and their friend and housekeeper was not allowed to stay with them in a motel.
“When that happened my mother said, ‘If there’s no room for her, there’s no room for us,’” she said.
And they drove on.
“(W)e all know America has much to do, but I’m so proud of the people of San Marcos for recognizing that it was not one man’s dream alone… it must be the dream and the commitment of all of us and when it is one day we shall overcome.”
