Cities across Kentucky hold MLK Day marches

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) — Cities across Kentucky celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day with marches.

Danville

Danville hosted a Martin Luther King, Jr. event with a march and program at a local community center.

A motley crowd started at Danville City Hall and walked down March Street to the Jennie Rogers Community Center.

“In Danville, Kentucky, since National Day, we’ve had a kind of local celebration,” said Danville Mayor James Atkins.

City and district leaders joined children and people from all walks of life to walk from City Hall to the community center, where people packed the bleachers and stood on the gym floor for a program of poetry readings, music and a keynote address by Rep. Derrick Graham Frankfurt, who spoke from Danville’s history in establishing Kentucky’s government to Kentucky’s history in marking unity.

“The story is much closer than we think,” said Rep. Graham. “I am forever grateful that we are not fighting the battle we fought centuries and decades ago. But we have our work cut out when it comes to creating a more perfect union.”

dr King would be in his 90s if he were alive today and many say his dream has made progress, but there is still work to be done.

“If Dr. If King were to join us today, he’d probably be a bit disappointed because we’re taking steps forward, but we’re taking two to three steps back,” said Atkins.

However, they say that within each of us is the ability to make a difference and to be the light in what can be a dark place.

“It’s important to come together and remember how far we’ve come, but we still have a long way to go,” said Boyle County Magistrate James Gray.

An MLK convocation will also be held Monday at 7:00 p.m. at the Norton Center for the Arts on the Center College campus in Danville.

george town

The city of Georgetown held its events on Monday afternoon.

The rain didn’t keep the dozens of Georgetown parishioners from their annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day off.

It began with a march from Georgetown College through town and ended at Georgetown’s First Baptist Church for a special program.

The protesters stressed the importance of the audience being so diverse across generations and races here for this celebration.

The special guest speaker, Reverend Dr. Jewel London, says it’s incredibly important, especially after the past few years of riots and civil unrest across the country, to see dozens of people from all walks of life coming together today and listening to the teachings of Dr. to remember King.

“This is probably one of the most diverse audiences I’ve had the privilege of addressing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to celebrate,” said Dr. London. “I think it’s absolutely beautiful. It represents what he stood for. What he dreamed of and although the dream has not yet been fully realized, it is on the way. And I think Georgetown is a great representation of that today.”

Richmond

Richmond’s NAACP held its annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr March.

This year’s commemoration of the civil rights leader focused on Madison County’s growing homeless population.

Michael Harrington is a member of the Madison County Tenants Union. He says homelessness is on the rise, partly due to an increase in eviction requests over the last year.

“26% increase over the course of a year in eviction requests,” Harrington said.

Richmond native Karla Willis says she’s seen an increase in homelessness in the city.

“Sometimes it’s economics. Sometimes it might be substance abuse,” Willis said.

“We’ve never seen homeless people on the streets like we see them now,” said Richmond-Madison County NAACP President Reverand Mitchell E. Brown. “That’s not even a comparison to twenty years ago.”

What is the remedy?

“Brother, I wish I had the answer,” said Reverand Brown. “But I think we just live in America in a time where the needs of those in need aren’t being addressed.”

They hold the spirit of Dr. King alive while emphasizing the needs of their unfortunate brothers and sisters.

A clothing collection for the homeless was held before the march.

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