MLK Peace Walk brings locals to unite, serve
Early morning low temperatures did not stop many volunteers from coming out to walk for peace, share fellowship and donate their time to service projects throughout the community as they honored the memory of the Rev. Martin Luther King on Monday.
Community members gathered at Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Bardo Gymnasium to walk around the college campus, displaying signs and walking for peace together.
The event kicks off Dream Week and is sponsored by Penn College, Lycoming College, the Beloved Community Council and STEP AmeriCorps.
“On behalf of the Dream Week committee … I am so excited to welcome you today for our peacewalk, rally and day of service,” said Katie Mackey, of the Dream Week Committee. “The road conditions took a turn over the weekend. We had advertised that we hoped to go out in the community today … but we made a quick alteration for the safety of the crowd.”
Due to weather difficulties, the crowd walked through the campus instead of the community this year.
“This is a really special day for us. What we do every day is we serve … Having you guys do that
with us today is very meaningful,” said Brittany Tasch, member development coordinator with STEP AmeriCorps. “Thank you for coming out on your day off and making it a day on. Thank you for caring so much about our city and our nation and just making this a day where we stand for community, we stand for unity and we stand together.”
Hannah Dawson, Penn College freshman, asked, “What does the word community mean to you?” to the audience.
“I am here to tell you why this simple word is very important … Each one of you is just one small piece of something, of a greater picture,” she said. “None of us have the same exact DNA. We are all unique. We are all different, and yet we are all here today for something quite remarkable.”
She said she was proud to be part of this community.
“The color of our skin does not determine our worth or what we were created to do as we walk upon this Earth,” she said.
She said that by being together to celebrate the day, they were one unit, one family, one community.
“A beloved community is the dream of Dr. King that he wanted to bring this into existence, and I think we are a part of that this morning,” said Richard James, of the Beloved Community Council.
James said he heard King speak when he was 16 years old.
“He was the first African American man that was articulate, well dressed and cool. He was just cool,” he said.
He said there are about 29,000 people in Williamsport with the average household income at about $35,000.
“The individuals below the poverty line in Williamsport is around 27.5 percent,” he said. “We have a lot of poor people in Williamsport. For the county, it’s a little over 14 percent. So, we have some problems.”
He said with poverty comes crime and many other issues.
“But you will not see that stuff in a beloved community. Poverty can be reduced in a beloved community. That’s one of the things we have to work on,” he said. “Young black men are killing each other. There’s an opioid epidemic. There are people committing suicide. This doesn’t happen in a beloved community, so we need to find ways to work on it.”
He challenged those who came out to participate to find ways to make the community more beloved.
“It’s great to see so many people here … Especially the college kids who are here,” said Rev. John Manno.
He said the battle that King fought still continues today.
“It’s still there in many, many ways … but I think it’s so great we’re all here today,” Manno said. “Dr. Martin Luther King said to say nothing is to be racist.”
He said it was important to speak out, to correct these behaviors and to keep King’s dream alive.
Jeff Lecrone, director of spiritual life at Lycoming College and president of Beloved Community Council, said the Beloved Community Council originally organized to try to spread the message of Martin Luther King Jr. Day throughout the year.
“We came to the conclusion that this is not just something we need to focus on one time a year, not just something we should celebrate once a year … but rather something we should commit ourselves to throughout the year,” he said.
Dr. Paul Starkey, vice president for academic affairs and provost for Penn College, said that Penn College and Lycoming College has been alternating who hosts the event throughout the years, but they are honored to do it together.
“Dr. King focused on nonviolent protest, and that doesn’t mean that we’re passive in the way we go about our work,” he said. “It means we find more positive ways to make a difference. We build up rather than tear down.”
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