GON’ BE ALRIGHT: Tye Tibbett who is the Co-Founder of Live Church Orlando performed at the commemorative service for MLK with the song “We Gon’ be Alright.” (Fairlie Mercer)

On the 40th annual observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Atlanta community gathered to honor Dr. King’s legacy and mobilize to continue the fight for equal rights.

Dr. King, one of the main leaders in nonviolent protest during the Civil Rights Movement, was remembered through the King Center’s annual service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King was the co-pastor with his father for eight years.

Dr. Stacie N. C. Grant, the international president and CEO of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., one of the Divine Nine historically Black Greek letter organizations, attended the service. Dr. Grant highlighted the importance of living up to Dr. King’s legacy of service and justice all year round.

“It’s with extra pride that we celebrate MLK Day, a day on, not off,” Grant said. “People take off for [the] holiday, but this is about service; this is about the commitment to equality and justice for all, the opportunity to be here to celebrate this wonderful chance for us to rekindle the light and the service that he gave that is not just for one day of the year, but 365 days of a mission possible in this beloved community.”

Kalzayian Ray, a student at Morehouse College, Dr. King’s alma mater, said Morehouse carries Dr. King’s memory by being a pioneer of education and civil rights. Ray continued King’s legacy, alongside other local college and high school students, by participating in a demonstration, including speeches and planned chants, at the service themed around justice, democracy and freedom. 

“MLK Day is important because it calls the nation back to remembrance, and it also, in some instances, it calls the nation back to repentance, to remember a man who not only stood up for freedom, but he literally gave his life for standing up for what he believed,” Ray said.

Kemina Lane, a sophomore at Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy, was selected to recite an original poem at the service. Lane said she was inspired by Dr. King’s wife Coretta Scott King and the event’s theme to write her poem as a call to action for justice.

“I really was going based off of the theme; the theme was mission possible: protecting our freedom, justice and democracy,” Lane said. “I really feel like that is a crucial point in this day and time, especially with my generation.”

According to Tori Dudley, the operations manager at the King Center, remembering Dr. King and the progress that has been made since his death is the most important part of the day.  

“We can’t forget all that was done,” Dudley said. “As history presses forward, it’s easy to sometimes forget, or even to feel as if progress is not being made. Days like this require us as a nation to stop and reflect, whether you’re here with us at the King Center celebrating in honor of observance, or whether you’re home with a cup of coffee.”

After the service, a large crowd marched through Downtown Atlanta to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy of nonviolent protest and advocate for current causes. Teamsters Local 728 President Matt Higdon led his union to march for labor rights.

“We’re out here to support MLK Day and justice, civil rights and worker’s rights, and just human dignity,” Higdon said. “Dr. King is an honorary member of Teamsters Local 728 here in Atlanta, Georgia, and all of these brothers and sisters of mine are here to support and honor his name and to continue the fight that he championed for all Americans.”

Even though civil rights progress has been made since Dr. King’s death, the fight for a better world isn’t over, according to marcher Dion Davis.

“A march like this is super important for me because we are still fighting for the things Dr. King taught us about way back when, right now, today, we’re still fighting for those same exact things,” Davis said. “It brings visibility, and it brings generations together.”

Dr. King helped organize several peaceful marches, including the March on Washington in 1963. Mason Cochron, who was marching with the Atlanta Social Democrats, said Dr. King would support modern marches in Atlanta. 

“It is clear that, especially in the city of Atlanta, the legacy comes from being present and being active,” Cochron said. “I think that Dr. King would very much approve of how we are coming together as a community and marching.”

Dr. King traveled to Memphis in 1968 to support striking sanitation workers. There, he delivered his famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech before his assassination the following day.

“Dr. King’s legacy absolutely shines to us because Dr. King gave his life supporting striking union workers, sanitation workers in Memphis and gave his life there in support of a picket line for workers who were trying to gain dignity in the workplace,” Higdon said. 

Cochron said peaceful protest shouldn’t be reserved for times when participants oppose the incoming administration, it is an ongoing activity that must be done until the world is an equal place for all. 

“Even when we had an administration that a lot of the people here were probably more friendly to, we still marched,” Cochron said. “Especially now, when there is a person in the White House who is ushering in an era of unprecedented corruption, we also still come to march. The point is no matter the person, we are here to march.”

SOCIAL DEMONSTRATION: A diverse group of students from different colleges and high schools in Atlanta preformed multiple times throughout the service. (Fairlie Mercer)

This year, MLK Day overlapped with the second inauguration of Donald Trump, which for many, including Kelsea Bond, was an even greater reason to march against Trump and in remembrance of what Dr. King stood for. 

“It is really important that people are out here today, not just honoring Dr. King, but standing in firm opposition to Trump’s agenda,” Bond said. “We are out here to say that the working class opposes Trump, that we oppose racism and bigotry, and we are ready to fight for a better future and to stand against Trump these next four years.”

Cochron believes MLK Day provides an opportunity for Atlantans to unite for a greater cause.

“In times like this, it is really easy to be isolated, and we are disappointed by the way things are,” Cochron said. “Coming together with people from all walks of life, teamsters, college students, people who have been active in activism in Atlanta for decades, all of us coming together no matter our background with a resounding message to rebuke the incoming administration.” 

Dr. King preached about “loving our enemies,” something Ray believes is especially relevant in today’s political landscape where Americans are more divided by party than ever before. 

“In this political climate, it’s important to remember Dr. King, because we also have to face the opposition with a level of grace and with a level of understanding that we’re not all there together yet, but we’ll get there someday,” Ray said.

Dr. King spoke at union conventions and walked picket lines with workers. Bond said Dr. King’s dedication to unions was unwavering. 

“We need to honor Dr. King and the legacy of standing up for racial justice and economic justice,” Bond said. “We are here today marching with unions, because Dr. King was a huge advocate for unions. He died advocating for unions, but at the same time, Trump is being inaugurated for the second time.”

Davis believes the overlap between MLK day and the inauguration diminishes the meaning of MLK day. 

“It just undermines what this day means to me,” Davis said. “I believe the whole election thing was just a bunch of hierarchies using their power and for them to do it the same day as MLK tries to undermine what this day is.”

CHOSING PRAYER: Gussie Ann Breedlove, a missionary of 43 years and a civil right activist and a friend of the King family remembers how Dr. King always preached nonviolence. (Fairlie Mercer)

Dr. King was known for his philosophy on nonviolent resistance, inspired by Indian activist Mahatma Gandhi. He led peaceful protests across the South, but was frequently met with violent resistance and was jailed 29 times. Linda Evans, a resident of the Branan Towers retirement community, recalls the unfair treatment of her own relatives during the Civil Rights Movement.

“[Dr. King] said you don’t have to fight to get your point across,” Evans said. “I hate that Dr. King had to go through what he went through to try to make them be free and how they beat them, and the people who would stand behind them and put water hoses and stuff like that on them and sick dogs on my ancestors.”

Dr. King organized a variety of peaceful protests, including boycotts, marches and sit-in protests. Between 1960 and 1961, over 70,000 people participated in sit-ins, where people of color would peacefully sit at white-only lunch counters and refuse to leave. Juan Muhammad, the former president of the South Carolina NAACP, was introduced to peaceful protesting at a young age when his mother took him to a sit-in in Savannah.

“My mother took me and some of my younger brothers to one of the stores in Savannah, Georgia because they had people come and be part of the sit-in movement,” Muhammad said. “There was a lot going on then, a lot of good and bad memories, but I remember my mother introducing us to that before we were even in elementary school.”

Gussie Ann Breedlove, a missionary of 43 years and a civil rights activist in Atlanta, knew Dr. King’s father, Martin Luther King Sr., who was also a minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church, endearingly referred to as “Daddy King.”

“[MLK Day] is always important because of Daddy King,” Breedlove said. “I sat with him across the street for 18 years. He was my pastor. He was my mentor. As a young child, my grandmother would tell us about the story of the Kings’ family. She would take the horse and the buggy and go across the woods, and I would be on the back of the wagon, and we would be singing songs. And that was a gift because he was such an awesome man.”

While much of the world remembers Dr. King for his speeches and activism, Breedlove recalls the more personal side of the King family. 

“I met his sons, and we united together and had such a good time,” Breedlove said. “I would have them laughing about how their granddaddy would have me go down the street and purchase him some peach cobbler, that was his favorite dessert. And then Ms. Luther was his caretaker, she said, ‘Now Martin, you know what the doctor said, you cannot have that peach cobbler.’” 

Coretta Scott King was known for fighting poverty and establishing the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Lane said she is inspired by Coretta Scott King’s hard work and determination.

“Mrs. Coretta Scott King never gave up, no matter how hard the obstacle was,” Lane said. “I feel like this day and time, people need to remember, ‘don’t stop, keep going no matter what happens.’”

Dr. King famously said he had a dream that “little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.” While there has been significant progress towards this, including the desegregation of schools and public places, systemic racism is still prevalent in modern society. Dr. Grant said it is vital that this generation continues Dr. King’s movement for equality. 

“The hope is in the eyes of our young people,” Grant said. “As a mother, I want to see my children’s children’s children live in the world that Dr. King dreamed of, and it is our job to stay the course and to do our work to make that happen.”

While Dr. King was influential in civil rights legislation, he did not center his sermons around politics. Instead, he tried to appeal to all, rarely discussing his own political ideals. Dudley said MLK Day should focus on collective reflection and progress. 

“The goal is for us to be reminded of humanity,” Dudley said. “The work of Dr. King in the movement was less focused on a political party and more focused on equity for all, so I think if we use the day for that it can keep us less divided by party. It’s less about left or right, it’s more about where all people are.”

Dr. King’s work was just a small part of the ongoing struggle for liberty and equality. Lewis said her concern about the future of the country makes it even more important to live out Dr. King’s legacy.

“There’s still so much to be done,” Lewis said. “Dr. King talks about the triple evils of militarism, poverty and racism, and I think that’s still so relevant today. It’s scary to see where the country may go.”

Dr. Grant said Americans need to work together to overcome societal problems that transcend racial divides.

“At the end of the day, poverty doesn’t know color; violence doesn’t know color; we all should be working to have the rights, liberties and freedom and justice, not in some communities, but in all communities,” Grant said.