Lines of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech wafted through the streets of Bryan on Monday. A diverse crowd of 300 people marched in the chilly morning air, waving to residents that left their houses to take a peek at the procession commemorating King’s legacy for racial equality.
“It’s so great to see so many students and children here,” said U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards. “It’s important they remember the legacy of Dr. King…
“We have a moral obligation to provide equality…We’ve come a long way but in many ways there are still two Americas.”
Texas A&M University English professor Marco Portales said this was his sixth time to march in honor of King, and that people will only stop marching when there is no more discrimination.
“We’ve not made it all the way,” Edwards said. “Sometimes we may be tempted to come to a wonderful celebration like this and then go home and get comfortable and return to the status quo. (King) did not give his life for us to be comfortable.”
Rebecca Guillory, a junior sociology major and member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, said the presence of so many A&M students at the march, as well as Vice President and Associate Provost for Institutional Assessment and Diversity James Anderson’s keynote speech, showed that A&M is working toward diversity, but that much more still needs to be done.
“I’m here to support and remember a great leader of the civil rights movement,” said Guillory. “Honestly, I still think we have a long way to go.”
Anderson recounted his experience of listening live to King himself deliver his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C.
“You had to be there; you had to feel what (King) said,” Anderson said. “You had to be there to see tears running out of everyone’s eyes. The humanity was so thick I could’ve cut it with a knife.”
Edwards said the presence of youth, students and children was the most eloquent statement made that morning.
“My hope for today is that all across America, children and their parents will reflect not just on Dr. King the dreamer, but Dr. King the doer,” Edwards said.