State of our nation a common topic at Austin MLK celebration
AUSTIN,Texas - "It is not the way,’ Dr. King once said. The ultimate tragedy is not the cruelty and oppression by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people," said Ashton Lewis, the young winner of the MLK Oratory Contest.
Austin's celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began Monday morning on the University of Texas campus near the MLK statue.
UT President Gregory Fenves pointed out King sacrificed everything for justice and equality.
"He taught us how to listen, how to be brave and how to sacrifice and how to move forward as a nation. His greatness changed this country forever," Fenves said.
After marching from UT to the south steps of the Capitol, the crowd silently listened to powerful words by the man himself.
"We had over 25,000 people here today. It was a great day," said Michael Winn with the Austin Area Heritage Council, the group that organizes the march every year.
"I think this is a day where it raises the level of consciousness in everyone to think about working together and I think MLK was really instrumental in making us aware of that," he said.
But a common theme throughout Monday's celebration -- many feel the country is in a difficult spot.
"I realize that some of us are concerned about the state of our nation. Our country appears to be more divided today than ever before in our history. We are divided. We are walking in darkness. Stumbling our way around as we hurl insults at one another in 140 characters or less hoping to one day find the light," said Rev. Daryl Horton.
After the Capitol, the group marched to Huston-Tilotston.
Nelson Linder with the Austin chapter of the NAACP says he remembers April of 1968 just like it was yesterday.
"I had a transistor radio the night he was shot and killed. That's how I remember him really. I was 10 years old. It was tragic. But as I evolved in Georgia of course, I read about his legacy, the issues there. And so I was embraced by the movement," Linder said.
Linder says Martin Luther King Jr. Day is also about civil rights and the challenges going forward.
"People have got to remember that, it's not just a one day thing. We've got to force our city, our county, everybody to create an environment where there's equity and fairness...what King's vision really was," Linder said.
UT nursing student Catherine Ward says to her, MLK Day is a day of service.
"Treat it not just as a day off of work but be out and about, mingling, talking, assessing the needs of your community and seeing where you can pitch in," Ward said.
So what would Dr. King think about America in 2018?
"We still have a lot of work to do. We've always had a lot of work to do to get to where we need to be and to stay there. Once we get to that point if we ever get there, we have to work to stay there as well. This is just a good reminder every year that there are people who care," Ward said.