FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – A crowd of nearly seven hundred people poured out from the city of Florence Monday for the 18th annual Martin Luther King Junior day march.
Late City Councilman Ed Robinson organized the march for nearly two decades to re-create peaceful demonstrations practiced by civic rights activists.
Since his passing those who help carry the tradition on say it serves the same purpose as it did back then.
South Florence High School student Hezekiah Walker marched for the first time with his family.
“It feels like I am a part of the past,” said Walker.
Despite foggy and humid conditions, marchers like Walker walked in unison across the MLK bridge to honor the assassinated civil rights leader.
“When we hear something like this we don’t just say oh we are doing that, we come out here to get experience for ourselves,” said Walker.
Former city councilman Billy D. Williams helped organize the march with Ed Robinson 17 years ago.
“Dr. King is the man we are recognizing today and Ed Robinson is the man we are recognizing today, those two people are in our honor today,” mentioned Williams.
“This is a different experience, you don’t have to be violent or anything to raise rights, you can just get on a bridge like this and walk it’s the numbers that count,” said Walker.
The march began at Shekinah Glory Seventh Adventist Church on Oakland Avenue in Florence and ended and at the Francis Marion Performing Arts Center for a scheduled service.
“It is the most beautiful feeling one could ever have with the struggle we had to get to this point. We had a struggle to get to this point on the bridge but we’re on the bridge. We have the fans and the people and the citizens of the city of Florence and surrounding community that come out to help us celebrate this day,” Williams said.
