"I don't believe that God intended for us to be anything less than the best we can be," said Elder James Simon at St. Union Baptist Church in McIntosh. "I believe that all of us are drum majors for somebody. We set an example for somebody."

The life and message of the late Martin Luther King Jr. was celebrated Monday with a breakfast at McIntosh High School and a parade of vehicles that led to a rally at St. Union.

Simon, a history teacher at Williamson High School in Mobile and a host of a Sunday morning program on WBLX radio, spoke at the later rally.

"Martin Luther King was given the gift of using words to inspire people," he said. "I don't just remember 'I Have a Dream.' I remember the drum major instinct, when he talked to us about being the best at what you do wherever you are.

"If you're going to be a street sweeper, be the best street sweeper you can be."

Simon praised his teachers in high school who inspired him. "They can see better in you than you see in yourself," Simon said.

"…Character sometimes can be more important than book learning. A smart man with no integrity is worse than an honest dummy.

"…We have to be people of character," he said.

When I deal with our young people, I try to put

demand on their character. I believe this is the real essence of 'the dream.' Where they won't be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character.

"…A man has to be as good as his word and as steady as his handshake." King knew the value of words, Simon said. "We can dance to a tune, but we need to know how to stand on ourword."

King spoke of "hope….The hope that Martin Luther King left behind is the hope we've got to catch hold of….There is a time when it seems hopeless. There is a time when you look at our young people and you wonder how in the world did we sink to this."

However, "our children are our heritage," he said "…We can't afford to leave them unattended and unspoken to. We can't close the book on them and throw them away. This cannot be a lost generation. The hope that we have is not for losing but for winning.

A celebration of the life and message of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was held Monday in McIntosh. A breakfast was conducted at McIntosh High School with Elder Al Clyde Sauls (left photo) presiding and former school principal Warren Roberts Sr. (center photo) as the guest speaker. A parade of vehicles then traveled to a rally at St. Union Baptist Church where Elder James Simon (right photo) was the guest speaker. (Photos by Barry H. Hendrix) "…I need to tell some young person somewhere - you need to hear the word of the Lord. If you are going to have a character that men can count on….If you're going to be a person that is going to touch somebody else's life and make something positive happen, hear the word of the Lord."