Citizens gathered at the Williamsburg County Courthouse to honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. and celebrate MLK day. The event was sponsored by Williamsburg County Branch of the NAACP and Vital Aging of Williamsburg County and included a parade and wreath laying. (Photo by Marina D’souza)

---

In his first book, Stride Toward Freedom, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote his philosophy of nonviolence. They are as follows: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people; The Beloved Community is the framework for the future; Attack forces of evil, not persons doing evil; Accept suffering without retaliation for the sake of the cause to achieve the goal; Avoid internal violence of the spirit as well as external physical violence; The universe is on the side of justice.
Having been inspired by his Christian faith and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. King led a nonviolent movement to bring equality and brotherhood. The Williamsburg County Branch of the NAACP and Vital Aging of Williamsburg County sponsored a parade Jan. 14, to commemorate his legacy. The heart of the parade, as well as a wreath laying ceremony, were held to honor Dr. King for his nonviolent acts of resistance to strive for racial equality and bring an end to the African-American freedom struggle.
Thelma L. York, member of the National Association for the Advancement Of Colored People (NAACP) was present during the parade to witness the emotional event. “It’s more than a parade,” York said. “It’s something to open people’s eyes to some things that are happening-- some are seen and some are overlooked. I feel good about being here. People still respond to what Dr. King has done. Now that he’s gone, we still have a long way to go and, that’s why we have the NAAP. Now we have an organization that will go out and fight for equality on our behalf.”
It was more of a reminder of how sensitive we ought to be toward each other and love one another. Gwendolyn Brockington a member of the community of Kingstree said, “It’s about feeling free. It’s the freedom to be. It’s the freedom to be united and to along with one another.”
Later, after the parade, there was a gathering around the Williamsburg County Courthouse located in downtown Kingstree. It included Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech whereby, the people repeated his words and remembered him, and there was the placement of the wreath.
A fragment of his speech read out loud was as follows:
“When we let freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
As witnessed in the eyes of those who attended, the value of celebrating this solemn day bears within itself the unshakable message of love, unity, brotherhood and equality among all people regardless of nationality or the color of the skin. In the words of Dr. King, “The world in which we live is geographically one. The challenge that we face today is to make it one in terms of brotherhood.”