By MARISA LORANGER, Staff Reporter.
Saginaw residents united for a common cause on Jan. 19, 2015. Locals showed up in the early hours of a chilly morning to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. with a half mile walk and a luncheon.
Before the march started, Eddie Fox, an organizer of the event, spoke and gave inspiration to the crowd.
Fox remarked, “All of us have been impacted by Martin Luther King in some way or another.”
Pastor Ken MacGillivray agreed with Fox.
“Martin Luther King, Jr. was a significant person to our history, especially a place like Saginaw that is so diverse,” says MacGillivray.
Pastor Larry Cambell led a prayer to kick off the march. The march was one of the largest they have ever had. The crowd spanned the length of an entire block.
Prayers and singing kept marchers going through the cold. The march ended at the Dow Event Center where Martin Luther King, Jr’s. famous “I Have a Dream” speech was playing.
The focus of the “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 19th Annual Unity Luncheon” was “Keeping the Dream Alive through Education: The Foundation for Life.”
95th State Representative, Vanessa Guerra, spoke about people of color going to college and completing their degrees.
“I am far too often the only minority in my classes,” Guerra explained.
Guerra wants to make a difference by making sure young people of color get opportunities to succeed.
Keynote Speaker, Stacy Erwin Oakes, spoke on educating the youth of Saginaw. Oakes explained that all of her childhood schools were now shut down. The closing of schools makes Oakes worry about the future of Saginaw’s children.
Several awards were given in the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the perseverance for education. Dr. Linda Holoman, a Delta College adjunct instructor, received the ‘2015 Spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award.’ Now retired, Holoman still works at Delta College for Q-TV’s “Soul Issue: The African American Perspective.”
