Slain civil rights leader remembered on his day

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2003 | 10:56 a.m.

A painting by a convict named Freddy Earl hangs on a wall at H&H BBQ on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The painting, titled "Together," shows the faces of King and Jesus Christ.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, Charlene Motz, manager of the restaurant, pointed at the painting and said it is "art that's representative of our own community."

A block south, on the corner of MLK Boulevard and Washington Avenue, Vernon Botley, 14, and Chris Horton, 15, who live in the community, were shooting hoops. When asked about the day, Botley said it was "a deep thing."

Then he added, "Martin Luther King was the most famous person to help us out."

Botley and Horton, like many in the mostly black neighborhood bordering the street named after the fallen civil rights leader, passed King's day doing what comes naturally on a day off from the daily routine -- playing, enjoying a meal. Like many, they also had something to say about King, what he stood for and what being black in West Las Vegas means today.

The two are students at Cimarron-Memorial High School. Botley said he wants to be a rapper or, failing that, a motivational speaker -- "like he was," referring to King. Horton, who said he gets "C's and B's, no D's or F's," wants to go to college and study business and communications.

Smaller kids passed by and asked loudly if a reporter was Horton's probation officer. After everyone had a laugh, Horton said there are gunshots at night within earshot of MLK Boulevard and a lot of pressure to join gangs.

Botley, who said he lost his dad to a bullet 11 years ago in Kansas City, addressed King's ideal of non-violence.

"In a way, he was right -- if you get hit and hit back, you're just as bad as the other person," he said. "But I couldn't stand for that."

"Unless it's the police," Horton said. "If you hit a cop, you goin' to jail and that's no good."

Both said they are frequently stopped by the police. "I say, 'OK, sir, OK, sir,' and then they're on their way," Horton said.

Back at H&H, Motz, before rushing off to the kitchen, said that she was disappointed in the day's customers, who didn't say much about King and what he stood for. The 46-year-old graduated from Clark Atlanta University, right across the street from Morehouse College, King's alma mater.

"I think that over the years it's not so much a day for change," she said. "It's less about what Dr. King stood for and it's more a day off."

Cassandra Black, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Henry, remembers when MLK Boulevard was called Highland Drive.

"It means a great change for us," she said, referring to the street's renaming in the late 1980s. "King made you proud to be an African-American."

The black population in Clark County was about 136,800 in 2001, or 9.5 percent of the total population, according to U.S. Census estimates.

Though her family stretches back to Texas and Louisiana, Black, 43, was born and raised in Las Vegas. She said the black community was different when she was a child and her parents owned another soul food restaurant.

"I remember the black community supported it like it was part of them," she said. "It doesn't feel that way anymore."

North Las Vegas Councilman William Robinson was raised in Mississippi and served on the committee that got Las Vegas to name a street for King.

"The year 1964 (when King won the Nobel Peace Prize) is so far removed from today that a lot of the youth don't realize the importance of what happened," he said. "Some do, but it's a mixed bag. It really hurts when you reflect back on King's life and death. But I suppose everything happens for a reason."

King was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis.

Still, many connected with events said that young people were interested in King and what he meant.

A breakfast held Monday at the Clark County Government Center was attended by 300, about a third of whom were young people, said Eddie Taylor, vice president of the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, organizers of the annual parade held in honor of King.

"The elderly people know about Dr. King and what he stood for," she said. "We try to share that with the youth."

Other local events included the 22nd annual parade held Jan. 11 downtown and a religious service for multiple faiths held Friday at Christ the King Catholic Community Center.

In addition Monday night an interdemoninational service was held in Henderson and a gospel music service near Summerlin.

Ramon Savoy, publisher of the Las Vegas Sentinel-Voice, the valley's only newspaper aimed at the black community, spent Monday working.

"I think Dr. King would work on Dr. King's birthday because there is much work to be done," he said.

Shirley Lawson, before walking out of H&H into the dusk settling on MLK Boulevard, remembered her parents telling her about riding in the back of the bus in Little Rock, Ark.

"If he wouldn't have done what he done, things would've been different," she said.

The 33-year-old pharmacy technician held her 2-year-old daughter Skyler's hand.

"She's gonna have it better," she said. "More people are more educated and she'll be accepted more than before."