“It was a wonderful turnout today,” said Gail Webster, who has spearheaded the annual march and evening event since its inception. “We’re always surprised, year after year, by the turnout.”
As she helped to lead the group south on Cincinnati-Dayton from the former Union Elementary to the West Chester Presbyterian Church, Webster said she thought about how those walking alongside her were living out King’s dream.
“Now we don’t have to worry about being hit by fire hoses ... Maybe a little rain,” she said. “We’ve progressed a long way. It’s not that we’ve arrived, and there’s still a lot of work to do, but this is a positive step.
“It’s a way to do something tangible. We can say, ‘I took an hour on Martin Luther King Day and marched with people who were different from me and I ate lunch with them.’ That’s not something I do everyday.”
Verneda Carson-Oliver, of Mason, took part in Monday’s march “to show that we still are struggling to fight for civil rights and equality.”
In addition to Monday’s march, the communities of West Chester and Liberty hosted an evening event as they have for more than a decade.
The hour-long Live the Dream: Our Declaration of Unity program brought together old and young, black and white, male and female to the legacy of King, whose assassination nearly 42 years ago left a nation struggling with equality in turmoil and violence.
As has been the case in the past, the event also honored the works of Lakota students who focus each year on a different aspect of King’s life.
This year: The detail the author felt defined King’s contributions to society.
Eighth-grade winner Elizabeth Eadie found it apparent in her research of King that the celebration of his life should continue year-round instead of just one day in January.
“As he is honored through the nation on the third Monday of January, we must not reduce his contribution to humanity to just the marches and other celebrations of his birthday,” Eadie wrote. “The benefit of his immeasurable work is too valuable to limit to just one day.”
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