Departed Leaders Leave Local MLK Day Legacy

Our community lost two stalwart leaders in 2014: Carole McReynolds Davis and Ava Moore. Both were instrumental in establishing an integrated celebration of the Martin Luther King holiday back in 1995. Twenty years later in 2015, as we conduct the first celebration without them, their efforts should be remembered.
To know Carole was to love her, and everyone knew and loved Carole. Her family had deep roots in Starkville dating back to the 1800s. Carole felt it was important for someone with her strong historical ties to the community to advocate for improved race relations.
I remember when she and I first marched together through Main Street arm-in-arm while singing with our African-American friends. We were nervous and knew we might subject ourselves to ridicule, but Carole thought it was important for whites to show solidarity with African-Americans by participating in their tradition of marching. To tell the truth, it was a lot of fun.
Carole also used her art to transform the Martin Luther King holiday into an integrated celebration of diversity. One year she painted a portrait of Dr. Douglas Conner, a local civil rights hero. Her painting helped him receive the recognition that he deserved shortly before his death. In subsequent years, Carole would unveil a new painting on MLK Day to honor the efforts of local people, including Ava Moore.
In recent years, Carole would always call me on the Sunday before the MLK Day breakfast on Monday to tell me she was saving a seat for me next to her. Sitting next to her in all her regalia and her childlike love for all people – that’s what I’ll miss most about her this year.
Ava Moore, along with Jeanne Marszalek, was a co-leader of the Race Relations Team that was created in 1993 by TVA and the Chamber of Commerce. One of the team’s goals was to transform the King holiday from an all-black event to a community-wide celebration. Thank you, Ava, for a mission accomplished. Today’s MLK breakfast on the campus of Mississippi State University is probably the most diverse gathering of local citizens that takes place all year, not to mention one of the most inclusive holiday celebrations in the state.
Ava was a great civic leader and a trailblazer. She was the first black woman to own a business on Main Street in Starkville. Not long after she moved here from Ohio in the 1980s, Ava helped organize the first integrated prom at Starkville High School. Ava didn’t grow up here, but she did as much or more for this community than people who lived here all their lives.
Improving race relations was one of Ava’s passions. Before her untimely passing, she was working with a local group of teenagers on a project to foster friendships among students in the city schools, county schools and private schools. The final project we worked on together was Unity Park, a new outdoor plaza across from the courthouse that will honor heroes from Mississippi who have promoted better race relations.
Mississippi State University and our local community have one of the finest celebrations of the Martin Luther King holiday held anywhere. This is not by accident. It is part of the legacy of two extraordinary women: Carole McReynolds Davis and Ava Moore. May our memories of them inspire us to carry on the work they started.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News.
To know Carole was to love her, and everyone knew and loved Carole. Her family had deep roots in Starkville dating back to the 1800s. Carole felt it was important for someone with her strong historical ties to the community to advocate for improved race relations.
I remember when she and I first marched together through Main Street arm-in-arm while singing with our African-American friends. We were nervous and knew we might subject ourselves to ridicule, but Carole thought it was important for whites to show solidarity with African-Americans by participating in their tradition of marching. To tell the truth, it was a lot of fun.
Carole also used her art to transform the Martin Luther King holiday into an integrated celebration of diversity. One year she painted a portrait of Dr. Douglas Conner, a local civil rights hero. Her painting helped him receive the recognition that he deserved shortly before his death. In subsequent years, Carole would unveil a new painting on MLK Day to honor the efforts of local people, including Ava Moore.
In recent years, Carole would always call me on the Sunday before the MLK Day breakfast on Monday to tell me she was saving a seat for me next to her. Sitting next to her in all her regalia and her childlike love for all people – that’s what I’ll miss most about her this year.
Ava Moore, along with Jeanne Marszalek, was a co-leader of the Race Relations Team that was created in 1993 by TVA and the Chamber of Commerce. One of the team’s goals was to transform the King holiday from an all-black event to a community-wide celebration. Thank you, Ava, for a mission accomplished. Today’s MLK breakfast on the campus of Mississippi State University is probably the most diverse gathering of local citizens that takes place all year, not to mention one of the most inclusive holiday celebrations in the state.
Ava was a great civic leader and a trailblazer. She was the first black woman to own a business on Main Street in Starkville. Not long after she moved here from Ohio in the 1980s, Ava helped organize the first integrated prom at Starkville High School. Ava didn’t grow up here, but she did as much or more for this community than people who lived here all their lives.
Improving race relations was one of Ava’s passions. Before her untimely passing, she was working with a local group of teenagers on a project to foster friendships among students in the city schools, county schools and private schools. The final project we worked on together was Unity Park, a new outdoor plaza across from the courthouse that will honor heroes from Mississippi who have promoted better race relations.
Mississippi State University and our local community have one of the finest celebrations of the Martin Luther King holiday held anywhere. This is not by accident. It is part of the legacy of two extraordinary women: Carole McReynolds Davis and Ava Moore. May our memories of them inspire us to carry on the work they started.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News.