King remembered for his vision
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Monday thousands gathered in Nashville to march in honor of that dream, among them Warren County High School students from the Black History Club and some of their family and friends.
The march started in East Nashville with a short program. Metro Nashville police in cruisers and on motorcycles escorted the group on the journey and held traffic as they passed – in direct contrast to the role the police played in the civil rights movement years ago.
Marchers passed the time sharing stories of previous marches and for some of the older folks, stories of Dr. King and the struggle for civil rights. They carried signs with Dr. King’s likeness and slogans regarding everything from racial profiling to living wages.
Moving through Nashville, the crowd grew exponentially as other groups joined the march. They stopped briefly in front of Fisk University, a historically black college. There the crowd enjoyed a performance by a Nashville-area high school drum ensemble. Backing them up, rather unexpectedly, on the flute was John Cook. Proof that Dr. King’s message is for everyone, Cook gave an impassioned and impromptu speech on civil rights for all people earlier in the morning at First Baptist Church of East Nashville.
Despite the cold, Cook made the entire march without a coat in traditional Scottish garb, complete with a kilt. Tonia Darian Davis, Black History Club president and Miss Mahogany Teen 2005, took Cook’s attire in stride.
“I thought he was interesting, but I’m not sure where he came in to everything,” Davis said. “It was fun to get out here and meet the different people.”
The marchers headed on for Tennessee State University and the commemorative convocation. At the convocation, where the theme was “Refuse to hate, respond with love,” speakers honored Dr. King’s memory and affirmed their commitment to equal rights for all people. The crowd was estimated at around 6,000.
Davis shared her thoughts on the day and the march. “I think its a good thing for young people, especially minorities, to participate in things like this. They learn about what people did for us, generations before. That’s why we are here today. Martin Luther King in particular. We need to remember and show recognition for what he did, or else we’d probably still be segregated.”
Black History Club vice president Erin Wolford echoed her sentiments.
“I think its great we can come up here every year and do this for the club. I have been coming here since middle school.
“Each year there’s new people. Each year there’s more people involved and its just a great opportunity,” said Wolford. “It’s just a great way to get more people together and do more productive things for the community, multi-racial, everything comes together.”
Despite the fact President Reagan declared the third Monday in January a national holiday back in 1983, Warren County Schools did not observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a day off from school until just recently. Prior to that, students made the trip during school hours.
Thirty-one students made the trip. The sponsor of the Black History Club, which began in 1996, is Jeff Martin, 11th grade principal.
“The majority of them were from the club but some were elementary school students,” said Martin. “That is good for them to get that experience, because they can remember that and go year after year.”