On Wednesday, February 14, Marion Military Institute hosted both Willa Mae Crews and James Oakes, both Perry County natives and civil rights activists, in celebration of Black History Month. The pair were hosted in the Anthony J. Center for Leadership, which also acts as the Institute’s chapel. Both Crews and Oakes are graduates of the Lincoln Normal School, whose alumni include Coretta Scott King.
Crews opened the speaking engagement by referencing the Langston Hughes poem, “Harlem”, whose refrain includes: “What happens to a dream deferred…it explodes.”
Now a resident of Birmingham, Crews reflected on the period of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Speaking on bus boycotts, sit-ins, and marches, Crews said, “It was an interesting time to see extraordinary people doing extraordinary things.”
In concluding her talk, Crews left cadets with things to consider going forward, saying, “You are my now and my future.”
James Oakes was an eyewitness to the night of Jimmie Lee Jackson’s murder during a demonstration in Marion. The murder incited the Selma to Montgomery march, which began with violent retaliation by law enforcement and vigilantes, known historically as Bloody Sunday. Oakes not only was in Marion the night of Jackson’s murder, but marched with activists on Bloody Sunday. Oakes also served in the Marine Corps, doing time in Vietnam. Oakes then married and relocated to Detroit for a time before returning to his hometown of Marion.
During his address to the cadets, Oakes emphasized, “Everyone has talents,” adding, “Hone them, nurture them, and don’t let anyone criticize who you are and what you are.”
