West Bloomfield

Hundreds keep MLK's dream alive in West Bloomfield

By Eric Czarnik
C & G Staff Writer

WEST BLOOMFIELD — Traffic along Orchard Lake Road was slower than usual Jan. 17, but it had nothing to do with orange barrels or construction.

Hundreds of marchers braved a chilly Sunday afternoon to remember the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the 16th annual United We Walk event at West Bloomfield High School.

Police blocked off a portion of Orchard Lake Road at around 3 p.m. as the walkers carried banners and signs. Walk participant Mike Holliday said the event is a family tradition he enjoys every year.

“If you take a look around, you can see that it brings us together as a community,” he said. “You know, you don’t have to be from any one particular religion, one particular class or income. It’s all about people getting together and trying to make the community better.”

U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, also joined to walk. He considered the event an act of community solidarity, and he added that he has tried to promote racial equality as a congressman.

“It’s really about the dialogue, to make sure that everybody has opportunities to express themselves and all come together in the democratic process to express their views of what we need to be doing as a country to continue to progress,” he said.

After the walk, the participants went to the high school auditorium to watch students dance, sing and speak about King’s influence on their lives. The event also picked its annual “world leader” honoree: women’s rights activist Alice Paul.

The event’s keynote speaker was Rabbi Paul Yedwab, who spoke of his childhood memories of watching news coverage of King’s assassination. Although Imam Achmat Salie and the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. also had been scheduled to speak, they were unable to attend the keynote speech segment.

The evening ended as participants held electric candles and gathered in a circle for a vigil.

Student co-chair and organizer Chanel Geter said she and her fellow students spent late nights preparing for the event. “It takes a lot of knowledge, and it takes a lot of work to put this all together,” she said. “It’s a lot of checking and double checking.”

Judge Denise Langford Morris said the day offered a chance to assess America’s progress in race relations. She noted her own life experience as the first black person to serve on the Oakland County Circuit Court.

“It means to me that it is an opportunity for all of us to really reminisce in the legacy and experience of Jim Crow and recognize where we have come,” she said.

“And to have all these hundreds of young people. These young people are our future, and so it fills my heart with joy to know that West Bloomfield, my hometown, is moving forward once again this year. United we walk.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Eric Czarnik at eczarnik@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1058.