Keeping the dream alive

Loxley group hosts march and program on MLK Day of Service

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LOXLEY, Alabama — About 40 souls braved the cold and close to 80 participated in a program to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, Jan. 20 in Loxley.

After marching from the Loxley Church of God to the Loxley Civic Center, Monday’s program featured Dr. Willie L. Patterson III, chief of the Real Estate Division, Mobile District, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Patterson’s speech focused on “How we can keep the dream alive today.”

“Dr. King’s dream was about focusing not on the color of a person’s skin, but on the content of their heart,” Patterson said. “To do that we have to learn to love each other.”

Patterson said keeping the dream alive, you have to be smart.

“What does ‘S.M.A.R.T.’ look like,” he said. “Let’s look at the word.”

S: Sophisticated.

M: Manners.

A: Active and Alert.

R: Reject stereotypes.

T: Touch somebody and pull them over to you.

This is the 15th straight year that the Loxley Area Martin Luther King Group held its program in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Each year, the nationwide Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is held on the third Monday of January to commemorate his birthday on Jan. 15. Introduced as legislation by U.S. Sen. Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania and Atlanta Congressman John Lewis, MLK Day was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994.

Marches held in King’s honor commemorate the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery that created national support for federal voting rights legislation.

The program also featured prayer and singing, including closing with “We Shall Overcome.” A potluck meal was served following the program.