On King Day at 8:15 a.m., more than 55 Shaw students gathered in the Willie E. Gary student union to participate in the 30th Annual MLK Memorial March. By 8:37a.m., word begin to travel of a timing conflict that resulted in students arriving about an hour early for a march that didn’t started until 11 a.m., The invitation for students to partake in this event was extended by students of the Honor’s college along with the Beta Rho chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha Inc., and Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc.,
Attendee Alicia Hill agrees that this was a great cause, however, said she was a bit disappointed. “To organize an event of this statue, we as a people should be able to have things set-up to where everyone is in place when they need to be,” Hill said. “Organization is a big thing to me.”
First time attendee Tasha St.Fort says despite the timing conflicts, she was looking forward to participating in the march. “Regardless of what time we were to be in place, I was excited about the whole experience,” St.Fort said. “I knew it would be something fun to do with my friends and fellow Shaw Bears.”
The march, which assembled at the State Capital Building at 10 a.m., was sponsored by the Martin Luther King Celebration Committee, Inc. and was one of 7 events that took place that day. The march started with a bell ringing ceremony followed by the collective singing of We Shall Overcome. Attendee’s then marched 8 blocks down Salisbury Street to the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium where the 30th Annual Martin Luther King Noon Ecumenical Observance was to take place. Program participants included Shaw’s own President Dr. Dorothy Cowser Yancy and the Shaw University Choir. Founder of the King Celebration Committee, Inc. Bruce E. Lightner said that the response from the community this year was consistent with roughly around 1200 participants. “The initial purpose of the walk is to give community residents the opportunity to display their public support for the contributions Dr. King has made,” Lightner said. “It’s sad that college students generally don’t participate in an event of this magnitude.”