Before the church services started this evening, community members joined together to march around the block with signs showing respect to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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Since 1985, the state has celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King and General Robert E. Lee on the same day, however this may be the past year that happens, due to a recent push from Governor Asa Hutchinson to separate the holidays.
“Happy Birthday Martin Luther King”, seven-year-old TJ Culberson said.
And though 2016 still isn’t the world Dr. King dreamed of in 1963, there’s much to smile about.
“I just want him to be proud of us”, Emma Gregg said. “Economic opportunity and affordable housing are two main issues especially for people of color in the communities here in Austin”.
Adams says this service goes both ways, with her college students able to share their knowledge with high school students, and the younger students bettering themselves. Growing up, her father was a civil rights activist, so naturally Dailey said she made a decision to follow in his footsteps.
Scott described that day: “Lieutenant came out and asked, ‘why do you have those black men lined up?’ He said, ‘well, we thought we were going to have a riot'”.
Event-goers all agreed one way to cut down on the violence in our neighborhoods is to keep the community coming together the way they did for this multicultural celebration. And doing it on Martin Luther King, Jr.
Black and white pictures of Dr. King are tacked on the wall inside his office; Elliot still is touched from the groundwork Dr. King set for civil rights.
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‘”I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits”‘.
