Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at WNMU 011821

Screenshots by Mary Alice Murphy

A virtual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day took place at Western New Mexico University on Jan. 18, 2021.

WNMU Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Isaac Brundage introduced the virtual speaker James Meredith, who attended and graduated from New Mexico Western College in 1951-52 and became the first black to attend the University of Mississippi.

"Today we honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream that equality, community and opportunity could be realized by everyone," Brundage said. "No one better embodies these principles than James Meredith, who, after graduating from Western New Mexico University, then known as New Mexico Western College, became the first black to attend the University of Mississippi. His conviction paved the way for integration nationwide and galvanized young black men, like myself, to dream bigger because we understood that anything was possible. After Meredith was shot during a peaceful march for voter rights, his cause was taken up by Martin Luther King Jr. and 15,000 other activists who joined his march. It is my distinguished honor and privilege to present WNMU distinguished WNMU alumnus James Meredith, whose six decades ago left our campus to make it possible so that I and others could stand on his shoulders and continue to dream."

Meredith said he was a private in the United States Air Force, and just after he had finished basic training, he was sent to New Mexico Western College to become a clerk/typist in the U.S. Air Force. "During basic training, they interviewed all of us to decide what trade or field they were going to prepare us to work in the Air Force. Luckily, when I was a kid growing up, every time my mother got $2 she sent me to Mrs. Hollingsworth, who was the typing teacher and lived by the school I went to, and I took typing lessons. So, I told the counselor when they brought us in to determine what they were going to train us to do that my mother had paid for me to take typing lessons, whenever she had money to do so. As a result of that, they sent me to New Mexico Western College to become a clerk/typist. They taught us language—how to use language, how to spell language, how to interpret language and how to use the dictionary. As a result, it turned out to be the most important thing in my life. It probably enabled me to be able to go to the University of Mississippi because as a result of going to Western New Mexico University, I became proficient in the English language. I'm almost certain that without that I wouldn't have been able to write the letters that caused me to be able to get into and graduate from the University of Mississippi."

Brundage said the annual celebration is done in conjunction with Grant County agencies and Western New Mexico University. He welcomed the virtual viewers as they prepared to induct the recipients of the Martin Luther King Jr. Service Awards, which honor citizens who are making meaningful contributions toward a brighter future.

Pastor Waldo Winborn of Brewer Hill Baptist Church gave the invocation. Darlene Chavez performed "Precious Lord, Take My Hand," while a slideshow of King played.

Ashley Templeton read a list of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hall of Fame past inductees. They include the Honorable Judge Ron Hall, Sister Rosemary Farrell, Randy Salars, Fred Baca, Mike Carillo, Gary Stailey, Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, Rev. Earseye Ross, Gary Garcia, Terrell Finney and Gloria Bradford.

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hall of Fame 2021 inductees are Victoria Marin and Leshauntai Adams. Laruni Witty, MLK Committee representative, honored the two young women for organizing the biggest peaceful protest in Grant County.

A photo of Adams with a mask pulled down at the protest and a T-shirt that read I Can't Breathe, referring to the death of Eric Garner, was shown. The words became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Marin is a long-time Grant County resident. She received the award and said: "Thank you, this is a huge honor. My great-grandparents were in peaceful protests at the mines during the time of 'Salt of the Earth' to get equal wages and equal right in the mines. This is a huge honor for me. Thank you to WNMU and everyone who supported the peaceful protest. If you are not educated on these issues, please educate yourself. You can always learn and grow on these situations."

The presentation ended with a slide of Martin Luther King Jr. with his quote: "Everybody can be great … Because anybody can serve."