Ferriday &8212;In 1966, local civil rights leaders Rev. Freddie Williams, Rev. Evans Johnson and Pastor Robert &8220;Buck&8221; Lewis led a march from the Mercy Seat Baptist Church on Fifth Street to the north end of the Town of Ferriday.

The march was to promote solidarity against fear during the long road to civil rights.

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the march, the Concordia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has planned a special Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day March.

Lewis will lead the march, which will begin at 2 p.m. at the old Ferriday Police Department headquarters on Tennessee Avenue and Second Street. Lewis will tell of his experiences of the times surrounding the 1966 march.

At 3 p.m. attorney Samuel Thomas of Tallulah will speak at a special program at the First Baptist Church on Second Street.

Thomas was 19-years-old Southern student in 1966 and, thanks to Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement, went on to become a successful lawyer.

He watched as his college-educated parents struggled to prepare for their voter registration exam, an exam the federal government later would do away with. &8220;I consider it an honor and a privilege to come to Ferriday,&8221; he said.

Thomas said he would speak about the civil rights movement in the area and a comparison of the way things were and are now. The Rev. Justin Conner, president of the Concordia chapter of the NAACP, will help lead the march.

Earlier in the day, Delta Corps will be at Heritage Manor Retirement Home to help residents who otherwise might not be able to get out to a march celebrate the holiday. The group will meet at 9 a.m. to distribute gift baskets to the residents.

At 10 a.m., the residents of Doty Road will conduct their annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day March.