2nd annual James Chaney Day held Saturday

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) - The City of Meridian celebrated the life of James Chaney Saturday.

They held the “Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness” event at James Chaney Park.

There were vendors there and a voter registration drive.

The daughter of James Chaney, Angela Lewis, spoke to the crowd. She told a little bit of her life story and spoke on the importance of having an equal playing field for all people.

News 11 spoke with Ward 4 Councilwoman Romande Walker, about the event and its importance.

“What the important thing is to. To keep history alive.” said Walker “Also, we want people to remember if we stopped telling stories of our ancestors or what happened in the past we’ll forget. Yeah. You really forget and it’s not and you don’t want to. It’s not just remembering the pains of it, but it was remembering what you need to do. Again, what I keep saying after that.”

James Chaney was a Civil Rights activist and martyr during the turbulent Freedom Summer of 1964. This was the 2nd celebration The City held in honor of his life.

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