ROCKINGHAM – One of the MLK Day Celebration Foundation Committee’s longest-running events emanated from downtown Rockingham on Saturday: the annual MLK Day weekend parade.
The parade was held at 12 p.m. Saturday and featured the Richmond Senior High School band, local churches, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and fraternal organizations aiming at displaying unity in the community while honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Among the churches and organizations represented were the Laurinburg Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Philadelphia United Methodist Church, Mt. Zion United Church of Christ, the Richmond County NAACP, Ellerbe Grove Missionary Baptist Church, Providence Youth, and others.
The parade was led by the Richmond Senior High School JROTC organization, which presented colors, followed closely by a group of law enforcement officials and local community members striving to show unity in a time where divisions highlight the nation’s news headlines.
Following the parade, a ceremony was held inside the Richmond County Courthouse where local law enforcement officials and community leaders spoke about Dr. King’s mission. Kourtnie Coltrane, a freshman, served as the mistress of ceremonies, and local student Raven Newton sang two familiar songs that attendees joyfully sang along with her.
“I don’t do anything without a purpose, and I marched today for a purpose,” Rockingham Police Chief Billy Kelly said, as he was one of the first to speak at the event. “We showed unity between the community and law enforcement, and this helps make sure ‘the dream’ is still alive.”
Hamlet Police Chief Scott Waters also delivered an impassioned speech at the ceremony, and said it warmed his heart to be a part of the march Saturday morning.
“Dr. King taught us we should always better ourselves in order to love one another,” Waters said. “Dr. King once said in a speech that we should live like Jesus died yesterday, rose today, and will come back tomorrow. It’s up to us to keep the dream of Dr. King alive.”
Sheriff James Clemmons spoke at the event as well, noting that, “people in our community come from various casts, classes, religions” and that despite that, “we need more light about each other.” His speech, too, was a call for unity and serving as examples of Dr. King’s peaceful mission in our own community.
J.C. Watkins, who was in attendance at the ceremony, is one the founding members of the MLK Day Celebration Foundation Committee and has been a part of the committee since its origin in 1984, the same year MLK Day became a national holiday.
Watkins made an appearance last week on LIVE AT 5, too, in an exclusive on-air interview with anchor Lance Jenkins where he recalled being told at the polls by white poll workers in 1946 that he “couldn’t vote because white folks had been running this thing all along and that he did not need to vote.”
He went on to note that those poll workers would not let him vote that year, but that Dr. King’s movement helped pave the way for him and other minorities to ultimately have the right to vote.
Watkins
Also honored at the event was the grand marshal of the 2018 MLK Day Parade, Reverend James Smith. Rev. Smith is a former United States Army veteran and a current member of Pleasant Hill AME Zion. He served as a pastor and chaplain for nearly three decades, and received a standing ovation at the ceremony on Saturday when his name was called and he was recognized.
For continued coverage of the MLK Day weekend events put on by the Celebration Foundation Committee, stay tuned to richmondobserver.com and the Richmond Observer app.
