On Monday, Scott County will join in with Americans across the nation who will pause for the day to remember the life and contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Government offices, schools and banks will be among the entities closed in honor of the civil rights leader.
In Forest, the day will be celebrated with a four-mile walk through the city and a program sponsored by the Legacy Education and Community Empowerment Foundation, Inc.
The Legacy Foundation will also celebrate the 22nd year for the annual event. The first honorary walk was held on January 20, 1997, and sponsored by the Slaughter Library and Slaughter Memorial Foundation. Constance Slaughter-Harvey and Cynthia Slaughter Melton served as original coordinators of the event in 1997 and have worked to keep the dream alive.
Legacy President Slaughter-Harvey remains as the coordinator for the event and is excited to celebrate and honor Dr. King as one of the most influential leaders ever known in America.
“The four-mile Walk is a public expression of appreciation for the life and achievements of Dr. King and other civil rights icons and will serve as a reminder of the work that needs to be continued,” Harvey said. “Emphasis is placed on genuine commitment to improving our society by restoring values to our society, families and homes.”
Harvey said this year’s 22nd anniversary of the walk is an important milestone in the continued local observance of King’s contributions to society.
“We are proud of the tradition we have been able to uphold in the memory of a great leader. On several occasions, walkers have fought sleet, rain and snow to keep Dr. King’s dream alive. They even faced dogs that were unaware of the importance of the expression of non-violence,” Harvey said.
“Having kept the Walk going for over 20 years is a testament to the efforts of many people in our community who respect and honor what Dr. King stood for during his life which, among many other things, included peaceful respect for equality and improving society by non-violent methods,” Harvey said. “This walk serves to continue the optimistic outlook and hope about moving forward to become a better country, state and county.”
The event usually includes about 100 people walking the traditional route, some kids riding bicycles, followed by others who ride in vehicles, some pulling decorated floats with displays honoring King. Community support and participation has continued to grow each year.
“Adults, youth and children join in this Walk and enjoy discussing, as we walk, the contributions of Dr. King, Medgar Evers, Winson Hudson, W. L. and Olivia Slaughter, and others who encouraged citizen empowerment through voting and participation in the electoral process,” Harvey said.
The Walk also includes a racially diverse participation of residents in the community each year.
“It is a wonderful feeling to see young and senior citizens walking or riding together and to see such a beautiful sea of black, white, Hispanic, Vietnamese, bi-racial and others walking, talking and singing together,” Harvey said.
Harvey participated in a march led by sanitation workers in Memphis, Tenn., while she was a attending law school at Ole Miss in 1968. She was preparing to return to Memphis on the night Dr. King was assassinated.
“While walking during our Walk each year, I reflect on the recognition and celebration of the life of Dr. King and the lives of others who believed in promoting justice and equality,” Harvey said.
Participants are expected to begin gathering at 7:15 a.m. at the Slaughter Library on Jones Street. Registration will start at 7:30 a.m. and caps, scarves and gloves will be given to the first 100 walkers who register the Walk will begin at 8 a.m. and end back at the library.
Each year, a Walk Marshal is appointed to lead the Walk and for several years, the Forest sanitation workers were honored as marshals. This year, Dr. Sheldon Graves a dentist and humanitarian of Memphis, Tennessee will serve as the events Walk Marshal. Dr Graves is a native of Forest and is the husband of Dr. Patricia Graves and the son of the late county agent A.L. Graves and educator Odessa K. Graves
Past marshals are also remembered and some still participate in the Walk.
Walkers will leave Slaughter Library and will proceed west on Jones Street to Seventh Avenue and then on to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and turning at Hillsboro Street. The Walk will proceed south on Hillsboro, cross Highway 80, to the courthouse and turn east on First Street, proceeding to the Forest Services Center. Walkers will pass through the intersection of Highways 21 and 80 on to Fifth Street and return to Jones Street.
Upon completion, a memorial program will be held and brunch snacks served.
Harvey said community and local government support is, and has been, key to the Walk’s endurance through the last two decades.
“Local support, especially by the Forest Police Department officers is most impressive and is critical to the success of the Walk,” Harvey said. “Members of local sororities and fraternities’ organizations have been supportive.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs.
King also helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. There, he established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history and would go on to give numerous other moving speeches before his life was ultimately cut short by senseless violence. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis.
