Celebrating life, legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. --Today people all over the United States are celebrating the life and message of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.

From San Antonio, Texas to Cincinnati, Ohio.

And even right here in South Bend at the Century Center— where they held the 34th annual Martin Luther King Celebration.

The celebration went all day long starting with a breakfast and then hosting vendors, groups, and businesses who offered services and goods to the community.

All celebrating Doctor King’s message of freedom, equality, justice and love which many feel is still being sought after more deeply today.

Marivel Lopez, a sophomore at Holy Cross College, says “Martin Luther King Jr. he’s done a lot and people don’t really take that into consideration. So I feel like just learning about him in general and as younger age can fix the future for other people to.”

Lopez decided to learn and came to the colleges MLK day celebration to listen to Richard Morrisroe who says, “I had marched with Doctor King both in Chicago and in Selma.”

Morrisroe, a civil rights activist who spent his life before becoming a father and a professor, following the King’s call says, “The kind of experience I’ve had in the worlds I’ve lived in is something I can still share with people.”

He started serving Chicago’s African American community--then got more involved in the Civil Rights Movement.

Then he went south where he had a life altering experience at a grocery store in Alabama—where he and his companion, Jonathan Daniels, were shot at, but only Morrisroe survived.

Remembering the day, Morrisroe says, “I managed after 11 hours of surgery at Baptist Hospital in Montgomery to be alive.”

And now, Morrisroe wants to share what he learned from his experiences and king himself which is “to continue living in hope.”

And Lopez says this is a message South Bend needs now more than ever saying, “There is obviously a lot going on in the local area. And people are scared to say anything and I feel like we need people who are more outspoken and stand up for the people that don’t have a voice.”