Town Celebrates King's Life, Legacy

The dove, funded by the Orange County Peace Action Coalition, a civil rights activist group, was designed as a symbol of peace to the marchers who gathered to commemorate King's birthday.

The festivities, sponsored by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Southern Orange County Black Caucus and the Martin Luther King Jr. Coalition, started with a rally at 10 a.m. in front of the Franklin Street post office, followed by a march to the First Baptist Church at 106 N. Roberson St. for a fellowship gathering at 1 p.m.

The day's events also included an NAACP membership drive and voter registration at the First Baptist Church.

The rally began with the harmonies of the Faith Tabernacle Youth Choir, after which storytellers, poets, NAACP members, Million Mom March members and Peace Action Coalition members, holding megaphones, stood on the post office steps and addressed issues facing minorities.

The diverse crowd applauded and yelled "Amen," and "Tell it!" when speakers spoke about minority education, campaign finance, raising the minimum wage, the death penalty, police brutality and the redistribution of wealth.

The crowd's excitement heightened when Al McSurely, president of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro chapter of the NAACP, took the stage. McSurely spoke about what he called a lack of cultural diversity and uneven wealth distribution in Chapel Hill.

"As the joke goes," McSurely said, "the diversity in Chapel Hill is in the different color SUVs."

McSurely also said he hoped the rally would organize members of the crowd and encourage them to join associations like the NAACP.

"I know there are hundreds of people in this area who share the goals of Dr. King and the NAACP," McSurely said. "I hope people will join the NAACP or other organizations to dismantle racist groups."

Marchers said the best part of the rally was how many different groups of people attended the event.

"The most exciting thing is the turnout," said Amy Garner, a member of the Faith Tabernacle Choir.

"More and more people are here to support King's vision every year, and the crowd is really diverse."

Pam Sharp, whose parents had the first licensed interracial marriage in Orange County, said she was thrilled at the number of people involved in the rally honoring King.

"It is great to give back to a person who gave so much," Sharp said.

Carrboro Alderman Joal Broun, who also is vice president of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro chapter of the NAACP, said the rally and march were communitywide events in which anyone could take part.

Broun also said the message of the day's events was to "remember our past, examine our present and believe in our future."

While the rally celebrated society's movement toward King's vision, Ruby Sinreich, a member of the Martin Luther King Coalition, stressed that it is still important to work to remedy racial inequalities.

"This year it is important to remember the sacrifice Dr. King made," Sinreich said.

"We have to remember what he had to say and how far we still have to go."

The City Editor can be reached

at citydesk@unc.edu.