Members of the Reconciliation Committee and community members gathered at Dumont Plaza Monday to mark Lemonade Day as part of the 17th annual Reconciliation Week events.
The yearly, week-long observance is a time of reflection and reconciliation on the anniversary of the 2003 mass shooting at the Lockheed Martin plant in Lauderdale County. On July 8, 2003, an employee shot and killed five coworkers and wounded another eight victims before committing suicide. Another shooting victim died later from their injuries becoming the sixth victim.
One of those victims was the Rev. Charlie J. Miller, whose family was later pivotal in creating the Reconciliation Committee and founded the C.J. Miller Foundation in his honor. Stacey Miller, his daughter, who serves as chairperson of the committee, said the week of events serves as a way to celebrate the memory of those killed and motivate and inspire the community to work together.
“We are celebrating the memory of our community members who left us 21 years ago, but we want you to know for sure that their lives were not in vain, that we are here remembering with purpose,” she said. “And that purpose is to inspire, to motivate, to commemorate and to celebrate.”
Jinnell Miller, who was married to the Rev. Charlie J. Miller, said the families of the six victims will never be able to forget the loss they suffered.
“There’s no way for us to forget because the loss of a loved one left a big hole in our hearts that only God himself can fill,” she said. “And this is the way we get our purpose, by coming to the Lord and sharing what God has done and what God is doing.”
God calls on his followers to love one another, Jinnell Miller said, and that is what Reconciliation Week is all about. By reconciling differences and loving one another, the community will be able to hear.
“So this is what this is all about. We love. We reconcile with our brothers and sisters, our families and with one another, and then we are able to love,” she said. “And that way we won’t have to worry about racism and all the things, all the vile things that happen to us because we will be living in the kingdom of God.”
Lemonade Day is also the day local students are awarded scholarships from the C.J. Miller Foundation, Stacey Miller said. The Rev. Charlie J. Miller was passionate about helping local youth, she said, and the Foundation is a way to carry on that legacy.
“As a pastor he did what he could to help the youth of his congregation, and so we are pleased to carry on that part of his legacy with this scholarship,” she said.
In their applications, students must write an essay explaining what is great about Meridian, Stacey Miller said. The Lockheed shooting was a black mark in the town’s history, she said, but there are good people living in the Queen City and a drive to make the community better.
This year’s scholarship recipients are Braille Brown and Jaden Hill, who both recently graduated from Meridian High School. Brown plans to attend Jackson State University in the fall where she will major in social work.
In her essay, Brown highlighted the strong community and family ties she has to the city. Meridian, however, has seen crime rise, she said, and a lack of knowledge about opportunities may be a contributing factor.
“Unfortunately, I feel like this is a direct response to the lack of opportunity people feel they have here in Meridian,” she said.
Brown said programs to educate the public about existing opportunities, mentorship programs and other initiatives to connect residents with workforce and educational programs could go a long way in curbing the crime and violence in the city.
Hill, who will attend Alabama State University to major in forensic biology, wrote in her essay that city leaders can do more to be visible to the general public and meet with youth in the community to better understand why some young people are choosing to join gangs and commit acts of violence. She also wrote that additional opportunities for both work and entertainment are needed in the city.
“After completing my degree in forensic biology, I plan to come back home, work directly with crime labs and local law enforcement to help solve some the problems destroying our community,” she said. “I would also like to work with the NAACP, Greek organizations and other Meridian community members to help with mentorships and after-school programs to help the youth.”
In addition to the scholarships, the C.J. Miller Foundation also selects a local organization to support each year, and this year’s choice is the Sarah’s Daughters Mentoring Program. The program works with middle school-age girls and performs community service projects, imparts life skills and helps them grow into productive citizens.
Reconciliation Week will continue Wednesday with the Rev. Charlie J. Miller Memorial Luncheon at 11:15 a.m at Union Station. The guest speaker will be Jim Feirtag, pastor of NorthPark Church. The annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast will continue the week’s events at 6:45 a.m. Friday at city hall and will feature both prayers from local leaders and a panel discussion on racial reconciliation. This year’s Reconciliation Week programming will end Saturday with the Reconciliation Run Parade leaving Lockheed Martin at 10 a.m. and heading through downtown to Forest Lawn Memory Gardens.