LYNCHBURG, Va. – The city of Lynchburg took to the streets for the second annual Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Walk.
The walk is held in February as a part of Black History Month. While Martin Luther King Jr. Day is in January, organizers say the weather is a little better to have it a month later.
Not only does the walk honor one of the most prominent civil rights activists in history, but also allows the community to come together.
Carl Hutcherson, one of the organizers of the event, says it’s all about making and building relationships.
“We honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on this day but we also come together to bring the community together,” Hutcherson said.
The walk goes down 5th Street, honorarily designated as Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Along the route, there are booths about different organizations within the Lynchburg community.
To make the walk a little more interesting, people had the chance to ask some of the booths the answers to questions about the history of Lynchburg and Dr. King. It gives the youth a learning experience on top of seeing the community come together.
“I can teach kids about unity, about diversity, about getting along — but at the end of the day they’re going to watch what I do,” Nathaniel Marshall said. “So this is showing the young people that we as adults can actually get along and actually do great things.”
The message is clear when it comes to spreading love and building more unity. The hope is to keep Dr. King’s dream alive, decades later.
“I think the dream goes on. We live in a world which is seeing too much division and hate. We need to learn to come together,” Hutcherson said.