Hundreds commemorate MLK during ceremony at S.C. State House
COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) — Hundreds of people gathered outside the South Carolina State House Monday to pay tribute to the legacy of Dr. To commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. – and to think about how it can be continued.
On Monday, the annual King Day at the Dome event was held in person for the first time since the pandemic began.
King Day at the Dome traditionally attracts Democrats running for president ahead of South Carolina’s “first in the South” primary.
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This isn’t an elementary school year – so that wasn’t the case on Monday.
But the keynote speaker was still a prominent one — Congressman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi — who recently chaired the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot.
“If Martin were here today, he would say, ‘Thank God for these guys in South Carolina. You haven’t forgotten my dream. You keep this dream alive. Thank God for the work they continue to do,’” said Rep. Bennie Thompson-D. Young lady.
But Thompson says the work isn’t done yet.
He and other speakers at Monday’s event urged South Carolina residents to learn from history.
“We have to keep pushing forward,” said Brenda Murphy, president of the South Carolina NAACP state conference. “We can’t sleep. Actually, I think we slept too long. We have to wake up. We have a lot to do.”
This year’s motto of the event: “Once it happened, it can happen again.”
Before the State House rally, participants marched down Colombia’s Main Street, following the same route taken by hundreds of African-American students in 1961, at the height of the civil rights movement, to protest against racial segregation.
“When we see the water receding, we cannot fall asleep. We can’t stand still. We cannot be apathetic. We can’t wait until the presidential election. We must rally our people and our troops now. We have to register people to vote. We must act now!” said State Assemblyman Ivory Thigpen, D-Richland.
Other speakers explained to the crowd that not voting has consequences.
Last November, several black state representatives lost their seats in the state house.
A federal court also recently struck down South Carolina’s congressional redrawn map for racial manipulation – after the NAACP sued.
“We need to push our lawmakers to change things that need changing that are important to our community,” said NAACP State Conference student Courtney McClain.
King’s Day at the Dome began more than 20 years ago as a protest against the Confederate flag being flown atop the State House dome.
The flag was finally removed from the State House grounds in 2015 — and today, some speakers lamented the presence of Confederate monuments and statues that remain here.
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