Bowling Green Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee hosts Memorial March and Celebration
BOWLING GREEN, Ky – On Monday morning The Martin Luther King Memorial March started at 10 a.m. at the Warren County Justice Center and ended at State Street Baptist Church.
The event lasted 30 minutes but the impact that it made on the community is far beyond that.
Co-Chair of the Martin Luther King Jr Holiday Planning Committee, Ryan Dearbone, talked about what the symbolism behind the march means to him.
“Being a part of the march, you know, you feel small in simply because you’re part of something bigger. So you have all these community members that would come out on a cold morning in January when they could be home sleeping. But we all come out for something bigger than us, not for just Dr. King but for the dream that Dr. King had.”
After the march, those who participated as well as other members of the community joined at the church for a celebration ceremony.
They were met with music from the Volunteer State Mass Choir, speeches from people within the community, and from the keynote speaker, Ricky Jones.
Dearbone believes today’s events are not just a celebration but a time to reflect on the message that Dr. King delivered.
“He showed us how to do it. He was critical when he needed to be. He was loving when he needed to be. He was outspoken when he needed to be. But he was never about destroying others. It was about showing them here’s the gravity of the situation, and how do we fix it?” said Dearbone.
Chair of the Martin Luther King Jr Holiday Planning Committee Felicia Bland believes today’s events were important, but the impact of Dr. King’s message is felt every day.
Bland said, “This is the day that we commemorate the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, because he said that all men should be able to live together, to play together, to work together.”
“We want to make sure that Bowling Green stays and remains that place. So today for us is just the day that we come together officially. But every day is a day of service,” she added.
