By: Gary Winkelman | Sterling Heights Sentry | Published January 23, 2026
STERLING HEIGHTS — On a morning better suited for polar bears and penguins, more than 100 people gathered in Sterling Heights Jan. 19 to honor the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and commit to following in his footsteps.
Buoyant and bundled up, participants in the city’s second annual Unity Walk paraded down Dodge Park Road from City Hall to Stevenson High School and back in an abbreviated callback to marches led by the famed civil rights leader in the 1960s.
And though it’s a different era, the individuals who assembled in Sterling Heights said it’s important to keep the ideals of equality and justice alive.
“Dr. King has been one of my heroes my whole life,” said Matthew Mills. “I came out because I want to be supportive of the cause. … It’s important to represent.”
Likewise, Dasein Coleman, who attended the Unity Walk with other members of the Omega Si Phi fraternity, pointed to current events and nationwide unrest as reasons to march and be seen.
“It’s absolutely necessary for everybody to stand up and be counted,” he said.
Following the chilly outdoor trek, participants moved inside and heard from a handful of speakers, including Bishop James A. Williams, founder and senior pastor of Spirit & Truth Christian Ministries in Detroit. He recalled King’s 1963 reference to America as a “burning house” and said the flames are still being fanned.
Williams said “hot spots” in need of confronting include growing economic inequality, open racism and white nationalism “resurfacing without shame,” truth “being treated as optional” and democratic erosion.
“I remember my government classes and being told that democracy was the foundation of this nation,” he said. “Yet we’re living in a time where political leaders are literally doing whatever they can to take the vote away from anyone who disagrees with them.”
Williams challenged the crowd to help fight the fires that are most troubling today.
“Dr. King believed ordinary people could do extraordinary good. This room is filled with ordinary people who can do extraordinary good,” he said. “So I ask you today, in the spirit of Dr. King, to help me put out the flames. When I say, ‘Help me put out flames,’ it’s not the cry of weakness, it is the language of movement. Fires are not extinguished by spectators. Fires are extinguished by people willing to get close enough to feel the heat.”
Organizers of the 2026 Unity Walk said numbers were up noticeably from last year and City Manager Mark Vanderpool predicted the event will continue growing, possibly meaning a move from City Hall to the community center next year.
He said it’s fitting the city pauses to recognize the MLK Jr. holiday, especially since it tries to embody the ideals for which King stood.
“I believe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be very proud of Sterling Heights because the city of Sterling Heights really personifies his core values,” Vanderpool said, citing human dignity, justice and equality as examples. “Dr. Martin Luther King believed every person has an inherent worth. He opposed systems that dehumanize individuals based on race, poverty and social status. And that’s what we’re about here in Sterling Heights.”