A Mississippi man who played an important role in the fight for civil rights is giving students a personal look at what life was like in the segregated South. Now 78 years old, Hezekiah Watkins was just 13 when he was arrested at a segregated bus station in Jackson, Mississippi. He and a friend snuck downtown to get a first-hand look at the Freedom Riders, a group of civil rights activists who traveled the South to protest segregation on buses and at bus terminals.
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In an interview with ABC News, Watkins said a friend pushed him into the front door as a joke, where a sign read, “Whites Only.” But what was meant to be a prank took a dark turn that would change his life forever.
“Before I could get out of the door, there was a police officer,” he said.
Watkins said the officer led him to a vehicle and put him inside, without telling him he was under arrest or contacting his mother. Instead, they drove him two hours away from the bus station to Parchman Prison, a notorious Mississippi state penitentiary known for its cruel treatment of Freedom Riders in the state, including the late Congressman John Lewis (D-GA). Once there, Watkins was placed in a cell on Death Row, where he was held for 13 days. After his release, Watkins continued the work of the Freedom Riders and was arrested more than 100 times.
Now, he is sharing the history of segregation in the South with school groups at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson during Hezekiah Watkins’ Gallery Talks every Saturday.
“We never dreamed that we could actually have a Freedom Rider on our staff,” one of the museum staffers told ABC. “Mississippi children learn a lot in the classroom, and they learn a lot when they come and see these exhibits, but nothing can compare to the experience of hearing from Hezekiah that he was a child just like them and was part of changing the course of American history. That’s something really powerful.”
Decades after his first arrest, Watkins finally received a formal apology from the city of Jackson, when Mayor John Horhn issued a statement on behalf of the city’s residents on Jan. 19, the day the country celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“He should never have been treated as a criminal for walking into a bus station in his own city, and he should never have carried the fear and humiliation that came with being sent to Parchman at 13 years old. Yet instead of allowing that trauma to harden his heart, Mr. Watkins turned his pain into purpose. Jackson is a better city because he chose to tell the truth, to teach our young people, and to keep believing in the possibility of more than just Mississippi,” the mayor said in part.
Although he’s told his story more times than he can count, Watkins says he never gets tired of it and wants to make sure future generations don’t forget this important part of history.
“The truth needs to be told,” he declared. “You need to know these things so you won’t take life for granted. We cannot forget.”
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