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AUSTIN (KXAN) – Hundreds in Austin gathered Monday to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – an American Baptist minister and civil rights activist.
On the steps of the statue erected in his honor on the University of Texas Austin campus, the president of historically black Hutson Tillotson University talked to marchers about King’s legacy of service.
“I encourage you today to be the one leading the change for Austin, to make a better Texas and a better America,” Dr. Melva Williams said. “With every step you take, I want you to think of the impact you want to make.”
Speakers at today’s rally included Williams, as well as U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett and Texas Sen. Donna Howard. The Huston-Tillotson University choir also sang its rendition of ‘Lift Every Voice’ on the steps of the Capitol.
Organizers played the entirety of King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963.
While walking from UT’s campus to the Capitol, and again to the Hutson-Tillotson campus, marchers also gave their opinions on what King would think of the world today.
“He would be very happy with the progress that we have made. Just right now, the environment seeing all these people out here from different backgrounds coming together for a good cause” D’Angelo Colter said.
“But he also would say we have a long way to go and by that meaning, we are still seeing suppression happening in our communities.”
“I think he would still be proud of what we are doing,” Hailey Cohen said. “There is a lot of [animosities] out there, and strife and hate but I think he would look at it and see the people that are still showing up.”
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