The dream cannot die.
Chief among the goals of the Martin Luther King Commemorative Organization is to ensure the legendary activist’s life, accomplishments and iconic dream of equality is never forgotten and is passed down from generation to generation. And as the 38th year of the annual Martin Luther King Day March took place on Monday – fittingly, MLK Day fell upon King’s birthday this year – a strong crowd of participants celebrated his life.
“It’s always really important,” said Dominick Dunn, a 6th grader at R.K. Smith Middle School who was among students chosen to read their essays about King at Monday’s post-march commemorative ceremony. “Dr. King helped us get our rights … the world wouldn’t be the same at all if not for him.”
As is tradition, each year participants begin at the Westbank Bridge Park in Luling, march down River Road and arrive at Eual J. Landry Middle School, where a commemorative ceremony closes the proceedings.
This year, Trejan Brignac was the guest speaker at the event. Brignac is a Southeastern alum and nurse practitioner.
“She’s doing some great things in the community. We were very happy to have her speak,” said Dwayne LaGrange of the Martin Luther King Commemorative Organization. “She’s a phenomenal young lady.”
LaGrange, who has participated in the event since the 1980s, called the day a blessing.
“It’s been going for 38 wonderful years. We’re blessed to still be around sharing Dr. King’s dream with our community,” LaGrange said. “We’re letting our younger folks know there was a struggle, that there will continue to be a struggle and that we’re going to keep pressing forward to keep the legacy of this wonderful person alive, and that we’re grateful for him going through all of the things he went through to make it possible for all of us.
“That we were able to celebrate Dr. King’s 95th birthday today only made it better. The holiday falls on his birthday this year, and it had been awhile since that was the case – we were super excited about that.”
The march is part of ensuring King’s hard work and sacrifices in the name of progress are never forgotten, and that his inspiration lives on for generations to come.
King was and remains an icon, known for advancing civil rights while advocating non-violence. He participated and led marches in a push for African-American voting rights, desegregation and labor rights, inspiring the marches in his honor today. The Nobel Peace Prize winner called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in his legendary “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in the summer of 1963. He was assassinated in 1968, but his message has stood the test of time.
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