March, rally scheduled Saturday in remembrance of King
Seeks to bring awareness to nation's current cultural climate
Civic organizations and area residents plan to hit the streets on Saturday, Jan. 17 at noon in honor of civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The walk is meant to commemorate King’s annual day of remembrance as well as bring awareness to the country’s current cultural climate. It begins at Second Baptist Church, located at 124 Atkins Ave. [shown above], heads east down Springwood Avenue, turns left down Main Street, right down Cookman Avenue, makes a turnaround on Bangs Avenue and takes Bangs to Prospect Avenue and back to the starting location. Following the march, activists and community organizers will speak at a rally, also held at the Second Baptist Church. All are welcome to attend the free event.
At the rally, children and people from the community, including Rev. Kevin Nunn of the Spirit of Truth World Vision Outreach, Historian Tyrone Laws, Diane Harris of Neptune’s, are expected to speak speak about the life of Martin Luther King and relate that to the current cultural climate in the United States, according to Daniel Harris, one of the event organizers and a walking deacon at the church.
Remond Palmer, who recently lost a bid to become the city’s mayor but seeks to have over 350 vote-by-mail ballots that were disallowed by the Monmouth County Board of Elections opened, will speak about the importance of voter registration, Harris said.
Since the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s, which sought to end racism and discrimination in the country, Harris said many black people feel the gains of the movement are going backwards.
“We want to bring that to light and show that the struggle continues,” he said, “we’re still not on an equal level with the majority and we are still far from the finish line.”
The rise of the ultra-conservative Tea Party in the United States, attempts to overturn affirmative action laws, the rise in shootings of young black men on the streets, and the inequality in the justice system count among reasons racial inequality still exists, he said, but the biggest part of the problem is perception.
Harris cited former Mayor Myra Campbell’s tumultuous swearing-in ceremony when members of the audience, aghast that Campbell split from her running mates — Mayor John Moor and Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn — and sided with incumbents to become the city’s first African American female mayor, verbally berated her during the ceremony. Harris contests that if a majority of blacks had acted that same way, “police would have been called and they would have been ushered out.”
“It’s not that we ought to be feared, we are to be reckoned with on all points,” he said. “I don’t fear white people, and white people shouldn’t fear black people. I understand their perception but I don’t want to live in fear and unjustifiably shot based on perception.”
The event is organized by The Asbury Park Chapter of the National Action Network, Charity Kings, Rev. Kevin Nunn and city resident Teretha Jones.
[Photo at top taken from the Second Baptist Church website.]
[Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Daniel Harris as a minister at Second Baptist Church when in fact he is a walking deacon. It also stated Neptune’s Midtown Urban Renaissance Corporation was a sponsor of the event. Although the organization’s executive director helped to organize the event, she did so as a private citizen. This version has been updated to reflect those changes.]
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