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"I was on that mall on August 28, 1963 —that was the March on Washington."
Then 17, King witnessed Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I Have a Dream" speech. Now 63, she will venture to Washington, D.C., next week —without a ticket — to once again be a part of history as the first black president takes office. "If I can't see a thing, I need to witness with my body that I'm there," said the former Long Beach NAACP president.
"I've been back for other kinds of demonstrations, but there's nothing that's ever been like this," said King, who hopes to catch a glimpse of Obama along the inaugural parade route. "To be back now, to witness the first African-American president being inaugurated, is just incredible for me."
Kathy Williams, who first moved to Long Beach in 1959, said she will watch the Inauguration Day events from home, and she admits that this will be the first time she has watched since John F. Kennedy was inaugurated in 1961. Obama is the first president since Kennedy about whom she feels confident, Williams said.
A community activist since she was young, Williams worked for Harry Harris's campaign for City Council in the early 1970s. "Harry Harris was the first black person to ever run for City Council," Williams said, recalling that only a few members of the community helped with the campaign, and even they were reluctant, because they were intimidated by the potential repercussions.
"There was no reason to be intimidated," Willams said, adding that the city’s elected officials were very helpful, and gave the group no problems. "Because everything turned out well." Harris ultimately lost, but in a small way, history had been made.
Appearing in a 2000 documentary called "Long Beach in Color," Williams said, "We have to deal with ourselves as a black community, because we are destroying ourselves. It's time to stop looking at other people and blaming other people for our dilemma."
Nine years later, she said, she still feels that way, though when asked if she has seen changes since then, she said, "Somewhat, things have changed. People are more enlightened. We're seeing quite a bit of success in our young people, who were at that time still in high school and went on to do great things, and we feel very encouraged by that."
The film, made by Cagney Wilson and Shatasia West, then members of the Long Beach NAACP Youth Council, included interviews with other notable black Long Beach residents and detailed their place in the city’s history. Its subjects included Charles Hassil, who became the first black member of the Long Beach Fire Department in 1966 and was promoted to captain in 1973.
Alanzo Merkson had been a member of the police department for 32 years when the documentary was made. "The change in Long Beach has been dramatic," he said in the film. "There were a lot of women working in homes — I guess you'd call them maids. Today there's been quite a transformation, because you have a lot more professional people working in the City of Long Beach that are of minority background." Merkson now lives in North Carolina.
"Long Beach's African-American community was filled with change agents who forced Long Beach to look at its own racial and class practices," said Patrick Graham of Charlotte, N.C., a former Long Beach resident, and a former director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, who based his doctoral thesis on the growth of the city’s black community. "African-Americans influence Long Beach's fair housing practices, race relations, politics and economy."
The film also featured the story of longtime resident Bill Owens, who recalled that when he first moved to the city in 1961, there wasn't much housing for blacks. "When we were refused apartments, the NAACP was quite large at that time," Owens said. "We would go to these apartments, 20 or 40 people, and go sit right in the lobby and wouldn't move. And at the same time we had people picketing out in the street. Police came and arrested some of our people and took them to jail."
A generation later, Long Beach is a different city, and many have high hopes that the 44th president will inspire continuing change. "We've come all the way from the back of the bus to the White House," said Williams. She and Graham agreed that Obama will have the greatest impact on the city’s black youth by giving them proof that dreams can be achieved.
"For many young African-Americans," said Graham, who will also attend the inauguration, "it may be the psychological lift so many of them need."
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
Then 17, King witnessed Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I Have a Dream" speech. Now 63, she will venture to Washington, D.C., next week —without a ticket — to once again be a part of history as the first black president takes office. "If I can't see a thing, I need to witness with my body that I'm there," said the former Long Beach NAACP president.
"I've been back for other kinds of demonstrations, but there's nothing that's ever been like this," said King, who hopes to catch a glimpse of Obama along the inaugural parade route. "To be back now, to witness the first African-American president being inaugurated, is just incredible for me."
Kathy Williams, who first moved to Long Beach in 1959, said she will watch the Inauguration Day events from home, and she admits that this will be the first time she has watched since John F. Kennedy was inaugurated in 1961. Obama is the first president since Kennedy about whom she feels confident, Williams said.
A community activist since she was young, Williams worked for Harry Harris's campaign for City Council in the early 1970s. "Harry Harris was the first black person to ever run for City Council," Williams said, recalling that only a few members of the community helped with the campaign, and even they were reluctant, because they were intimidated by the potential repercussions.
Appearing in a 2000 documentary called "Long Beach in Color," Williams said, "We have to deal with ourselves as a black community, because we are destroying ourselves. It's time to stop looking at other people and blaming other people for our dilemma."
Nine years later, she said, she still feels that way, though when asked if she has seen changes since then, she said, "Somewhat, things have changed. People are more enlightened. We're seeing quite a bit of success in our young people, who were at that time still in high school and went on to do great things, and we feel very encouraged by that."
The film, made by Cagney Wilson and Shatasia West, then members of the Long Beach NAACP Youth Council, included interviews with other notable black Long Beach residents and detailed their place in the city’s history. Its subjects included Charles Hassil, who became the first black member of the Long Beach Fire Department in 1966 and was promoted to captain in 1973.
Alanzo Merkson had been a member of the police department for 32 years when the documentary was made. "The change in Long Beach has been dramatic," he said in the film. "There were a lot of women working in homes — I guess you'd call them maids. Today there's been quite a transformation, because you have a lot more professional people working in the City of Long Beach that are of minority background." Merkson now lives in North Carolina.
"Long Beach's African-American community was filled with change agents who forced Long Beach to look at its own racial and class practices," said Patrick Graham of Charlotte, N.C., a former Long Beach resident, and a former director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, who based his doctoral thesis on the growth of the city’s black community. "African-Americans influence Long Beach's fair housing practices, race relations, politics and economy."
The film also featured the story of longtime resident Bill Owens, who recalled that when he first moved to the city in 1961, there wasn't much housing for blacks. "When we were refused apartments, the NAACP was quite large at that time," Owens said. "We would go to these apartments, 20 or 40 people, and go sit right in the lobby and wouldn't move. And at the same time we had people picketing out in the street. Police came and arrested some of our people and took them to jail."
A generation later, Long Beach is a different city, and many have high hopes that the 44th president will inspire continuing change. "We've come all the way from the back of the bus to the White House," said Williams. She and Graham agreed that Obama will have the greatest impact on the city’s black youth by giving them proof that dreams can be achieved.
"For many young African-Americans," said Graham, who will also attend the inauguration, "it may be the psychological lift so many of them need."
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
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