The life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was celebrated Monday in New Iberia at the recreation center bearing his name at West End Park. 

The program, put on by the MLK celebration committee, had a focus on children this year. The theme of the program was “The Children Are Our Future” and featured multiple performances from local children singing religiously inspired songs to the audience of more than 100 people. 

City officials, local residents and those putting on entertainment for the event all packed into the Martin Luther King Recreation Center on Field Drive to give proper homage to King on the national holiday.

MLK Day is a federal holiday that was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. It is held every year on King’s birthday, Jan. 15. The Baptist minister and civil rights leader was assassinated April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.

Monday’s local event featured an invocation from the Rev. Adam Curley, music by Jocelyn Young and words from New Iberia Mayor Freddie DeCourt, Iberia Parish Councilman Michael Landry and New Iberia City Councilman Marlon Lewis. 

“We’re here to celebrate a drum major, a man who was a drum major for peace and equality,” Landry said. “My mom and dad taught me respect and how to help people, and that’s what Dr. King did.” 

“Here in the city we’ve got a lot of challenges, but we’re facing them together,” DeCourt said. “We got quite a lot of things done for my first year (as mayor). We’ve got a police department. There will be challenges but we will face them together. That’s what today reminds me of. Unified there’s nothing we can’t do.”

“Us Louisianians in New Iberia do not recognize how closely related we are to the civil rights struggle,” Lewis said. “Everyone here should feel proud of themselves today to celebrate the man, the legacy, his life and dreams.”

There also were performances from the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church Mime Ministry Young Seeds of Faith children’s group and the First Jerusalem Baptist Church Liturgical Dancers. 

Other performers included Lighthouse Missionary Baptist Church and the Zion Hill Christian Fellowship Youth Praise Ministry.