The keynote speaker this year is Andrew Young Jr., a civil rights activist who was an aide to Dr. King and was with him when he was assassinated in Memphis in 1968.
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“You see, Dr. King knew that housing was more than about just bricks and mortar”, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro said at the Ebenezer service.
It may have been a day off from classes for students at CMU, but many still took the time to give back to the to the Mount Pleasant community and honor Martin Luther King Jr.
The 2016 theme of the parade was ‘living the dream, continuing the movement.’ Organizers said they considered everything happening across the nation when they picked the parade’s theme.
Pictured above is Johnson High School performing in the Martin Luther King, Jr. “Now, we’re on both sides of the railroad”, she said.
“We did what we could because we had to change the way African Americans were being treated or mistreated”, Jones said.
They packed Martin Luther King Drive to march in honor of Dr. King’s legacy.
Selflessness an important subject that Dr. King touched upon when he asked all of us, “what are you doing for others?” “That we can all be together and that we can celebrate what he wanted to do and also celebrate our futures”.
“…Because he let us have freedom”, said Norie Harvey, a 6-year-old Girl Scout participating in the parade. 4th grader Miashia Denmark says she’s somewhat closely connected with King.
The longtime Greenville resident says all the celebrations and gatherings are great, but people to need honor Dr. King every day of the year.
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“I think its so encouraging to see young people out here and to see his message isn’t getting lost and that we are the ones who are uplifting it and keeping it going”, Tessa Gonce said.
