On Feb. 7, 2015, St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church, in observance of Black History month, celebrated profiles of the turbulent life of our local hero, the Rev. H.K. Matthews, to raise awareness of his sacrifices for the achievement of all. Many may not be aware of the contributions made by him to civil rights and racial equality. Being beaten numerous times, jailed over 35 times and spending five years of his productive life in prison for a crime he was innocent of.
As Selma celebrates 50 years since the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, you will find Matthews in the center, because he was there in the beginning. His comment is “the fight was not specifically black against white, but right against wrong.”