The legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was alive in the streets of Sacramento on Monday morning, with thousands of marchers enduring the brisk weather to commemorate the life and work of the civil rights icon.
Festooned with bundles of vibrant orange balloons and flanked by marching bands in formal attire, marchers in this year’s annual MLK Day March for the Dream looped around Sacramento City College, up Land Park Drive, across Broadway and back down on Freeport Boulevard to honor the Atlanta pastor who was cut down in Memphis on April 4, 1968.
For many, that means celebrating a shared sense of African American culture and community.
“I think the most important thing is making sure that his legacy lives on through supporting black groups — events like this,” Branch said.
Black youth, Branch said, are disproportionately affected by gun violence, so the message of peace Martin Luther King Jr. embodied needs to be upheld and spread in the community.
“It’s just a tragedy what happens to them every day,” Branch said.
Diane Falls, who said she has been out to the march many times over the years, agreed that young people should be actively engaged with the history of civil rights, as they are still vulnerable racism and discrimination.
“Things have changed but our work isn’t done,” Falls said. “I have two African American sons and every day I have to worry about them being treated unequitably just because they’re black.”
Michael Dominguez said the need to uphold and share the message of Dr. King is more important now than ever — the noxious rhetoric of President Donald Trump has taken the country in a direction that he sees as antithetical to the spirit of MLK Day.
“I’m not really a supporter of Mr. Trump — I’m sure he’s not out here,” Dominguez said. “This is the greatest country on earth and I just think we’ve kind of veered off in the wrong direction.”
Instead, Dominguez said, the unity that Martin Luther King stands for is the balm the country needs.
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