• Tara Bozick •
• Originally published January 16, 2009 at 12:10 a.m., updated January 16, 2009 at 12:10 a.m.

PORT LAVACA - Posters of the man with a dream sat in his living room chair. On top, Barack Obama's toothy smile covered the magazines.

D.J. Williams' home, a block away from MLK Jr. Drive in Port Lavaca, becomes the coordinating center for Saturday's celebration in memory of King.

Williams led a life inspired by King and hopes President-elect Obama may continue to inspire young people.

The 79-year-old and Calhoun Citizens in Action started coordinating the MLK celebration three years ago to educate younger generations about King's accomplishments. But it's not just about equality for blacks, but all people, Williams said.

Williams understands everyone has had prejudices throughout history, but he still prays that people can judge simply by the contents of a person's character, he said, paraphrasing King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech.

"In my estimation, we still have some way to go," Williams said. "We can keep working at it."

Williams taught his two children and now two grandchildren that they need to set their goals high, just like King did.

"If it's easily attainable, you haven't reallydone anything," he would tell the children. Williams never let growing up in a segregated society, the kind with "backdoors" in restaurants, bring him down. He remembers attending separate schools from the white students. The teachers did their best with a lack of resources like books, chemistry labs or vocational classes.

He was frustrated not being as "marketable" out of high school, but that didn't stop him from working.

Because Port Lavaca was a small town, it had an intimate setting where everyone knew each other and their family members, he said.

"That made for good relationships," he said, about interaction between the races.

Unfortunately in the country, blacks were "second-class citizens," he said. Williams joined the U.S. Air Force as a young adult in 1950, right after the troops integrated. He recalls his unit stopped at a restaurant on the way home, he being the only black soldier.

The owner didn't want to serve him, but his commander said, "Either Williams eats or none of the soldiers eat," Williams recalled, smiling.

He went on to work at Union Carbide Corporation in 1954 as a janitor, where he was told only certain types of jobs would be open to him. But King was most active and in the media those years and slowly, but surely, Williams became a craftsman and then supervisor, serving in management for 28 years.

"I feel that MLK and his efforts during that particular time had a lot to do with my going from a janitor to a supervisor," Williams said.

The civic-minded spirited Williams, who gets lovey-dovey about his hometown of Port Lavaca, dedicated his life to serving the people there. He serves as deacon for Mount Sinai Baptist Church, where he teaches youth Sunday school.

He keeps various awards from his community service around the house, mixed on the shelves and mantle with knickknacks gathered during his lifetime.

Photos of landmarks adorn the coffee table. Williams and his wife Pearly Joyce embarked on a MLK pilgrimage nine years ago during a vacation, starting with the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis where King was assassinated. They continued on to Selma, Mobile, Montgomery and Tuskegee in Alabama. They couldn't pass up Atlanta, King's birthplace.

"It was, to me, one of the more interesting things we have ever done in our lives," Williams said.

It wasn't long after Port Lavaca's first King celebration that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., came onto the campaign scene. Even though Williams taught his own children to dream big, he always thought Obama would do well, but wouldn't win the presidency.

"I never thought in my lifetime that I would see a black man be elected to the highest office of the land," Williams said. "I'm glad that I was wrong. The young people ought to say, 'If Obama can do it, I can do it.'"

• D.J. Williams civic affiliations:

  Deacon at Mount Sinai Baptist Church

  Port Lavaca Chamber of Commerce "Man of the Year" in 2003

  Trustee on board of Memorial Medical Center, awarded Distinguished Trustee Award in 2001

  Member of Calhoun Citizens in Action, ...

• SHOW ALL »

D.J. Williams civic affiliations:

Deacon at Mount Sinai Baptist Church

Port Lavaca Chamber of Commerce "Man of the Year" in 2003

Trustee on board of Memorial Medical Center, awarded Distinguished Trustee Award in 2001

Member of Calhoun Citizens in Action, where he coordinates MLK celebration

Fellowship of Churches, helps with tent revival

Awarded recognition for taking Little League to city championship two years consecutively

YMCA board

Formosa Plastics Advisory Board

Wilkins School Alumni Association

But young people in Port Lavaca may also look up to D.J. Williams, friends say.

Ted Nelson, longtime friend and coworker, remembers how Williams drove him to the airport when his son died.

"I say as a good person, you couldn't find any better than him," Nelson said.

Donald E .Washington often barbecues with Williams to raise money for those in need. He can't list everything Williams has done for the community.

Pearly Joyce sees how busy her husband stays serving others. She just hopes the younger people can take over when he goes "off the scene."

If You Go

Saturday

Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

March starts 10 a.m. at Evelyn's Fish Market, ending at George Adams Park

Free food, education and motivational speaker the Rev. Rufus C. Diggs of Houston

In Victoria

The Martin Luther King Day March and Observance in Victoria begins at 10 a.m. Monday starting out at Martin Luther King Jr. Park at 3808 Callis St. The march will end at Greater Mount Calvary Church with a ceremony to follow inside the church.

For more information, call Sandra Avery at 361-573-4187.

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