Tuscaloosans honor MLK with Unity Day festivities

By WVUA 23 News Reporter A’Leeyah ponder

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream lives on through unity, service and civil responsibility. On Monday, the Tuscaloosa chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference hosted a Unity Day celebration honoring King’s life and legacy.

Dozens of people from all walks of life gathered by Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School on Monday while marchers passed on their way to Tuscaloosa’s City Hall.

“MLK’s legacy means for everyone to be unified and to have equal rights because he fought for us to be here today,” said Unity Day March attendee Zion Cade.

King was not only a symbol of hope for the Civil Rights movement, he was also a man who made significant strides toward getting underrepresented communities involved in local, state and national politics.

“I’m old enough to have seen a lot of things done, so he’s such a powerful inspiration,” said Catherine Davies, a League of Women Voters board member. “We’re struggling now with voting rights. We were hoping to get those federal voting rights bills passed and we’ll still keep struggling with that.”

With 2022’s elections looming, march organizers said they urged participants to honor King’s dream by participating in the electoral process.

“The dream must live on,” said Tuscaloosa SCLC President Rev. James Williams. “The dreamer is not here anymore, but the dream lives on.”

For more information on the upcoming elections, dates, deadlines and officials running for positions visit www.vote.org .