Civil rights movement more institutionalized, says MLKspeaker

Published 11:03 pm Saturday, January 14, 2006

The civil rights movement has gone from “the suites to the streets” said one its most noted leaders at Dalton’s 13th annual Banquet Celebration in Memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

State Rep. Tyrone Brooks was the keynote speaker at Saturday’s banquet. He first met Dr. King when he was 15 years old in his hometown of Warrenton and often marched with noted civil rights leaders.

Now, he says, a lot of the work of the civil rights movement occurs in traditional settings such as schools.

“The work has become institutionalized.” said Brooks, a Democrat who represents parts of Douglas and Fulton counties. “And in many ways we take it for granted.”

Brooks was jailed 65 times during the civil rights struggle.

He has been a member of the Georgia Legislature since 1980 and led the fight to change Georgia’s flag.

Brooks serves as president of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, a division of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Sometimes he has had to return to his roots and protest in the streets. One of the key issues for Brooks now is the Voting Rights Act, which expires in 2007. He recently participated in a march to call attention to the issue.

“Half a million African Americans in Georgia are not registered voters,” Brooks said. “In Georgia alone, that is a challenge.”

And politics is where King believed the work of the civil rights movement is, Brooks said.

“Everything I do, I try to emulate Dr. King,” he said. “We are trying to carry on the legacy.”

More than 120 people attended the banquet, which featured several awards.

Iva Lee Macon and Bob Brown received the Bishop C.H. Ellison Award. Bishop Reuben Graham received the Mayor’s Community Service Award

Marcus Starling, Johnnie Bakkum, Oliver F. Cobb, Pat Caldwell and Cora Winfrey all shared the M.L. King Community Service Award.

Today, an ecumenical service will be held at 4 p.m. at Shiloh Baptist Church in honor of King.

As for Brooks, he is headed back to Warrenton.

“It’s my mother’s birthday,” he said. “She and Dr. King were born on the same day.”