LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As many Louisville residents were off work and out of school to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, city leaders gathered to spread a message of peace and compassion.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day began with a peace walk in west Louisville. A motorcade followed, ending at King Solomon Baptist Church where preachers urged those in attendance to continue the work King started decades ago.
This was the 50th year for motorcade event. Dozens of church members, community groups, elected officials, unions and many more made their way down Broadway before ending at the church.
Speakers at the church included Rev. Charles Elliott, a civil rights activist and someone who worked along King. He spoke about violence in Louisville and how King's work can lead the city to better days.
For some in Louisville, the holiday and annual event is an ingrained tradition, their duty to do their part and carry on King's legacy.
"I feel like we should be interested in everything that has happened in the past, what has gone on since then and now," said Ruth Carr, who was there for the celebration. "And I feel like Martin Luther King was a king. He was a man that was right for everybody."
This year's MLK commemoration includes the 40 Days of Peace Compassion Games, created to be a worldwide community engagement experience to promote kindness and better people's lives.
King had some important ties to Louisville. His brother, A.D. King, lived in Louisville in the late 1960s, was pastor of Zion Baptist Church and was active in the civil rights movement.
King visited Louisville several times in the 1950s and 1960s. His most famous visit to Kentucky was in 1964, when King, baseball legend Jackie Robinson, and politician Georgia Davis Powers led a march of 10,000 on the Kentucky Capitol.
King would have turned 93 years old on Jan. 15.
Copyright 2022 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
