Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. commission member Constance Williams said this is a favorite MLK commemorative photo of hers. It's from January 2020, when personnel from Cannon Air Force Base showed up on short notice to help set up an event.
Shammara Henderson
Shammara Henderson, the speaker for Saturday's 33rd annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. scholarship breakfast, is coming to Clovis from Albuquerque where she is a judge on the New Mexico Court of Appeals.
"We like her beliefs that she has in people doing better. As a judge, she deals with a lot, including the youth. She lets those appearing in her court know there are better options," said Joyce Pollard, president of the Clovis area Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission.
Another member of the commission, Constance Williams, is looking forward to Henderson's speech.
"We get to hear from a dynamic speaker on our theme 'It starts with me: Shifting the cultural climate through the study and practice of Kingian non-violence,'" Williams wrote in a text message.
The breakfast is set for the Clovis High School Cafeteria at 9 a.m. Saturday. Tickets are $15 and available by calling (575) 749-4529.
"We'll have sausage, eggs, biscuits, fruit, juice, toast, coffee. Basically a typical breakfast. It's nutritious and it's served by Clovis Municipal Schools staff," Pollard said.
The event will also feature youth speakers who are awarded scholarships by the commission.
Youth is the main focus of the MLK Commission, according to Pollard.
"We focus on our youth, trying to make things better, directing them in a better direction than they're going," Pollard said.
Pollard believes problems with youth today are worse than they've ever been.
"We encourage them to become ambassadors of the commission. We've had attendance setbacks for our ambassadors locally but we're working on that," Pollard said.
She added the commission is trying to direct area youth "to be peace makers in the face of all this chaos around them."
Monday, on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday, there will be walks and rallies in Clovis and Portales.
"The symbolic walk (in Clovis) is Monday at 9 a.m. We plan to walk from the Dr. King and Coretta Scott King monuments in Potter Park, Seventh Street to Main Street, to the Clovis Legacy Life Family Church where the pastor, David Lombrano, will give the speech for the march," Pollard said.
The Portales commemorative march and celebration starts at 5 p.m. Monday. Participants meet at the MLK tree in the center of the Eastern New Mexico University campus. From that point the walk is on to the Memorial Building, 200 E. Seventh St. in Portales.
At 6 p.m., the celebration at the Memorial Building begins.
"I've known who Dr. King was since I was young, but I didn't know how close in time his assassination was to when I was born, less than 15 years," Williams wrote in a text message.
"Dr. King spoke directly to conditions that impacted people. He spoke up and took actionable steps to empower people and that energy led toward collective change. As a social worker, this resonates with me."
She added, "It's difficult to come to terms with the true history of his demise. However, these three hours at the beginning of the year (at the commemorative breakfast), truly helps encourage, inspire and invigorate those in attendance and that energy helps lead to good things as the year goes on."
