By Zainab Richardson | Staff Writer
Jan. 19 is a day of remembrance and celebration across the nation of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and at Indian Spring Park, Wacoans held their own celebration.
The city’s annual Peace March has been held for over 20 years and is led by local chapters of Zeta Phi Beta and Phi Beta Sigma with a purpose to keep King’s dream and spirit alive.
Corey Ephraim, president of Phi Beta Sigma and event speaker, discussed what inspired the event.
“We had a sister; she actually marched back in the day with some different groups,” Ephraim said. “She brought the memories and the history — and started this 26 years ago.”
Though the event was for the greater Waco community, Baylor students were also encouraged to be in attendance. For many of them, it was their first time going, and they said it wasn’t exactly what they had expected.
Aurora, Colo., senior Peace Iheukwumere said she was surprised by it.
“According to the flyer I had received, it was portrayed to be a parade, but when I came over here, I was kind of confused as to what was going on,” Iheukwumere said. “There were no floats or anything like that until I realized that we were the parade, and we were marching.”
Instead of just being spectators of a parade, attendees participated in a 5-minute walk. They also got to hear speeches from community leaders like Rev. E. Shaun Williams of Pleasant Olive Missionary Baptist Church and many others.
Dr. Peaches Henry, president of Waco NAACP, gave the perspective from the crowd.
“I think they’ll be surprised by the diversity of the crowd,” Henry said. “This is sometimes a holiday that people think is for African Americans only, but the fact is it is a holiday that is for our entire country.”
The initial chatter and buzz faded into a more serious tone as attendees transitioned from the march into listening to various speeches from keynote speakers.
Lovie Langston, vice president of Alpha Phi Alpha, said the mood became more serious once the speeches started.
“Once they get about the center of the bridge, then that feeling and the idea of what you’re marching for has a tendency to come up,” Langston said. “I think the mood shifted during the actual speech.”
The speeches highlighted the true importance of the event. For Janessa Givens, candidate for Texas House District 56, Williams’ speech stuck with her the most.
“He did a good job of tying in the moral courage of Dr. King and how the most important thing that we could do to see change in our society is to operate and show each other love,” Givens said.
According to Langston, Henry delivered a speech that reminded him why the day was so important to observe.
“Her challenge was that we had to fight,” Langston said. “We got to fight. This is not a game here. People are trying to erase not only our history, but they’re trying to erase our rights.”
