“What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do to change this country?” Tyler Swanson, a recent North Carolina A&T graduate, asked a crowd of nearly 100 gathered outside the Franklin Street post office at 9 a.m. Monday.
“We can come together each year to commemorate a legacy, but if you’re not putting that legacy into action, we are wasting time. And ladies and gentlemen, we have no time to waste,” said Swanson.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP came together for its annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The festivities included a rally, march and service. The rally included spoken word by UNC first-year Madrid Danner-Smith, songs by the UNC Gospel Choir and an address by Swanson. The rally ended in a march to First Baptist Church of Chapel Hill for a special service.
Several prominent community leaders spoke at the service, including keynote speaker Reginald Hildebrand, an associate professor at UNC. Hildebrand spoke about King’s last day before being assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968.
“Rather than make a speech, I would like to think out loud with you what Martin Luther King Jr. had on his mind that day, the day before his death,” Hildebrand said.
Hildebrand highlighted how King’s last days included many hardships for the leader, as King had vocally criticized the war in Vietnam and declared more should be done to help those in poverty.
King’s views on each were unpopular among his dissenters and supporters, but he still delivered his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech to a group gathered at the Mason Temple. Hildebrand said any normal person would decline the offer to speak and rest for the days ahead, but King went and spoke to the crowd to inspire them to keep fighting.
The service also included the presentation of the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award to Ruth Zalph, an active member of the civil rights movement. Zalph said she was a part of the civil rights movement for those who did not have the same opportunities because of the color of their skin.
The Rev. Robert Campbell, president of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP, said he became active in the community after his service in the military where he saw problems abroad.
