Martin Luther King Jr. Day is not just a day off from work or school, but rather, a day to honor the late Martin Luther King Jr. by doing acts of service in the community. This day is celebrated every year on the third Monday of January. King was a minister, activist and political philosopher who led the movement to end segregation and prejudice in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement. Throughout his life, he faced many difficulties working for equality such as being arrested over 20 times, being attacked and ultimately being assassinated by James Earl Ray in 1968. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan proposed a bill to make MLK Day a national holiday. South Carolina didn’t recognize this day as an official state holiday until 2000, making it the last state to fully celebrate the important contributions of King.
With the celebration of MLK Day and the upcoming Black History Month in February, Spartanburg hosted a Unity Walk on Jan 13. This walk is two miles long and passes through historical sites such as Dead Street School, one of the first Black schools in Spartanburg. The Unity Walk, or “Walk as One Event,” partnered with the YMCA this year, bringing in many youth groups such as My Brothers Keepers, Divine 9 Organizations and members of the SHS Black History Bowl and Black History Club.
Meredith Burroughs teaches AP African American Studies, U.S. History and is the Black History Club adviser.
“The MLK walk was a great opportunity for our club to see the local Spartanburg community. We all walked in unity and solidarity on behalf of equality within the community. It was fantastic to see all the youth organizations in Spartanburg and to learn new history on the walk,” Burroughs said.
The walk started at the YMCA and was led by one of the police chiefs. One of the stops on the walk featured Mount Moriah Baptist Church, which was the first Black congregation in Spartanburg and was visited by King, whose uncle was the pastor at the church. However, when urban renewal began in the late 50s, many historical Black buildings in the southside were destroyed. On the walk, participants passed by the plots of these previous buildings to remember their significance even if they are no longer standing today.
Caroline Hutchins (12) attended the Unity Walk and believes it is a huge reminder of how far we have come as a society – and how far we still need to go.
“The MLK Unity Walk will always be one of my favorite events that Spartanburg holds because of what it brings to the community and the sense of unity, harmony and solidarity for all that MLK did for us to be where we are,” Hutchins said.
Participating in MLK Day is just one way to learn and understand about historical events of significance, especially in February. The Black History Club plans to host a variety of events and trivia to assist the Viking family in learning more about contributions made by influential Black Americans.
Myles Klosterman (10) loves being in Black History Club because it is a chance to learn about and celebrate American heroes that may be more unfamiliar than King.
“People like Carter Goodwin, ‘the father of black history;’ Ronald McNair, an astronaut who died in the Challenger explosion; and Daniel Williams, who performed the first open heart surgery, all made history – yet a mention one of them to a friend and you’ll likely receive only blank stares. ‘Black history is American history,’ as the quote goes, and I couldn’t agree more,” Klosterman said.
