The Fulton chapter of the NAACP honored veterans and senior citizens Friday at their annual luncheon.
Chapter President Anna Braxton said the event at Guiding Light Baptist Church has been a tradition for more than 20 years. In addition to honoring veterans and senior citizens, the event is used as an opportunity for a community gathering.
"We always do it before Veterans Day, but we also do it now to get a jump on the holidays," Braxton said. "Most older people don't want to come out when it gets cold and starts snowing. This is a good time to bring the community together."
Papers with the names of Callaway County veterans, both World War II and post-World War II, were placed on each of the tables. Four veterans were in attendance and were honored with a special salute and speech by Sherry McBride-Brown.
"During this week, we just want to make sure we take the time to recognize all who fought for us and everyone who continues to fight for us overseas," McBride-Brown said.
A table draped in a white tablecloth with items atop it emulated the "white tables" that are traditionally seen in VFW halls. McBride-Brown said the tables memorialize fallen veterans and prisoners of war.
The "white table" displayed items including an empty glass placed upside down, lemon wedges, salt, a rose, an empty chair, a white candle and a black napkin.
There is a wide variety of symbolic meanings behind the items, McBride-Brown said: the white tablecloth and white candle honors a soldier's "pure heart"; the lemons resembled the "bitter fate" of captured soldiers; the salt and the black napkin were for the tears of families waiting for their loved ones at war to return; the empty chair and the upside down were for missing soldiers who would "never have another meal"; and the rose represented soldiers who were returning home.
"To all of our veterans, we love you, we thank you, and we appreciate you so very much," McBride-Brown said.
Jack McBride, the founder of the Fulton NAACP chapter, was also in attendance. McBride will be turning 94 years old Tuesday and is a World War II U.S. Navy veteran where he served for two and a half years and fought in the Pacific.
McBride said he started the Fulton chapter to combat segregation and discrimination. The first thing he fought for was to integrate the stores in the Brick District and the local schools. He said he did not want black residents of Fulton to feel like "second-class citizens" anymore.
"We fought for black students of all ages to go to school in Fulton rather than (Jefferson City)," McBride said. "The black students stood on the corner by Westminster where the bus would take them to Lincoln (University) or the other schools. We fought that."
His push for integration coincided with many other civil rights movements in America in the late 1950s. McBride said his integration efforts were not met with heavy opposition in Fulton, but some were just not a fan of it.
"People just didn't want to see change," Braxton said.
McBride's military service and civil rights history were commemorated by those in attendance. To learn more about McBride's activism history in Fulton, visit this recent article: bit.ly/32sUtGr.
"I was one of the last ones to ride the bus to Jefferson City, and it's a blessing to have people like (McBride) here with us," Jim Gabbert said.