MLK Center celebrates in high style

May 7—Celeste Johnson sought to make something great out of an old building in 1974, recalled Derrick Reed, director of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center.

Hundreds packed the community center Friday and Saturday to celebrate 50 years of greatness and growth. King's daughter, Bernice A. King, exhorted the cheering audience Friday night to love and serve the community.

"We have to think about the kind of world we want to live in," Bernice King said. "We, individually and ultimately collectively have got to focus on what is it we want to see in our world."

King said both of her parents "worked toward a world where love prevails."

"It starts with each one of us deciding on, if that's the kind of world I want, how would I align my focus," she said. "We need to have a mindset that I'm going to be a love-centered person. Are you love-centered in the way you speak with people? Do you speak in denigrating tones? I believe there is energy in words."

Oklahoma City city council member Nikki Nice posed questions drafted by Muskogee community leaders. Nice asked King "where do you find hope for the future?"

King talked about her faith and words from her mother.

"She said it's always darkest right before the dawn," King said. "If there's a dark, there's also going to be a dawn. Things are going to happen in our lives that get us ready for the next season in our life. That's what gives me hope and also, when I see the energy of the young generation. We want a loving future. We want to make sure we are committed to each other as humanity. That gives me hope to keep going on."

Cheers and applause went up as King spoke, prompting her to speak with more verve.

"You've got to stay focused on what you believe to be right and watch God move," she said.

At Saturday night's gala banquet, Reed honored past leaders and presented plans for the center's expansion. The evening also included dedication of the Celeste Johnson Library at the center.

Reed said the original MLK building dated to World War II, when it was used as a barracks for Black soldiers, then as a library with second-hand books for Blacks.

"And when integration came in 1972, this building was left vacant," Reed said. "Celeste Johnson established the center as a place where black organizations and all organizations can come and meet, where young people can come and hang out, where classes were done."

Past directors, including Leroy King and the late Lansing Lee also were honored. Reed recalled how the center almost closed its doors in the early 2000s. However, the Rev. Aundrea Jones, Muskogee NAACP, Muskogee Christian Minister's Union and Reed sacrificed and worked with the city to keep it open, Reed said.

A newer, larger center opened in 2016.

MLK Trust Authority board chairman Wayne Johnson said the original building could fit in the current center's multipurpose room.

"I can remember in the old building, you could take a piece of paper and stick it through the cracks," Johnson said. "I was involved when we did this building, there were complaints that the building's too big and will never be used. Right now, we don't have room to serve all the kids and the community."

Banquet-goers were told about plans for a $7.8 million expansion that would feature classrooms and a multipurpose room with a basketball court. The expansion is to be part of a proposed $77 million General Obligation Bond the City of Muskogee plans to present to voters later this year.