EVERETT — About 300 people gathered at Everett Memorial Stadium on Monday morning to honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy.
Monday’s march was the third ever in Everett hosted by the Snohomish County Black Heritage Committee. The committee has held other MLK programming for more than 40 years. The march was part of a two-day event — The Greater Everett Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration. This year’s theme was “Mission Possible: Working Together To Achieve The Dream.”
“That’s how we’re going to achieve the dream that Doctor King spoke of way back in 1963, working together,” said DanVo’nique Bletson-Reed, chair of the event. “We have our differences, and that’s fine, but we have a lot more in common than we really know, and it’s about even bringing those differences, bringing our uniqueness together to build and make something really beautiful.”
The group marched through Everett to the Carl Gipson Center, chanting “No justice, no peace” and “Hands up, don’t shoot.” Some marchers sang, banged drums and conversed with one another. Community leaders, athletes and families were among the crowd.
“I hope my children learn to treat each other with respect and equality,” said Sarah Lewis, who marched with her three children.
Some marchers saw significance in the national holiday falling on the day that President Donald Trump was sworn into office.
“It is an interesting contradiction,” said Wil Johnson, Snohomish County’s chief DEI officer. “But I think that’s all the more reason to come out and show up and, regardless of whoever is in what leadership role, that we as a community stand by each other.”
Once the march reached the Carl Gipson Center, people packed inside to watch speeches and performances. In the front of the room, artwork from the Prodigies for Peace Essay and Art Contest hung on the walls. The winners were recognized for their work, which focused on making the impossible possible, in line with the event’s theme.
In the back of the room, community organizations set up booths to share their resources. The event also featured a vaccine clinic, where attendees could receive their flu and COVID-19 shots. The goal, organizers said, was to bring the community closer together.
“I feel like there’s a certain segment of our society in this country that wouldn’t even find this significant,” said Kevin Henry, DEI coordinator at Volunteers of America Western Washington. “Even when we have Juneteenth, the Black national anthem, MLK days, people wonder why we’re doing this. It’s not just a Black holiday, it’s an American holiday. We all created through history what’s happening in the present, so it involves everyone.”
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
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