‘A true visionary’: Charlotte residents celebrate MLK Day at march, YMCA breakfast
Not even frigid temperatures and the temptation of staying home for a day off from work could stop Charlotteans from getting out into their communities and finding ways to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday.
Some celebrated by spending their morning at a YMCA-hosted breakfast at the Charlotte Convention Center uptown, while others spent their afternoon marching down the street of their east Charlotte community with signs calling for action on problems like homelessness and gun violence.
Those at the 31st annual MLK Holiday Celebration breakfast listened to speakers, including religious leaders, local community college students, and Rickey Price — a former Duke University basketball player who was the keynote speaker — talk about King’s legacy and his continued influence on activism today.
“As we take time to remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, one of the things that stood out about his legacy is that he was such a true visionary,” Price said. “He visualized equality across the board, for all races ... at a time nobody thought it was possible.”
Price talked about his journey to Duke, his time on the team, and his career after, and the three pillars he’s followed since then: visualizing and imagining success, persevering through challenges, and being confident in ideas.
He explained how King’s activism could be connected to those three pillars, such as when the civil rights leader had the confidence to give his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C., in 1963. Or when he persevered through violence he experienced from angry crowds and police and experienced pushback when advocating for voting rights and equality.
Breakfast attendees included groups from local companies and organizations, fraternity and sorority chapters and elected officials. Price encouraged the hundreds there to channel their “inner Martin Luther King and seize your moment.”
Seated near the front of the stage was Mayor Vi Lyles, who said it was important to talk about King and his legacy and how it can influence work in Charlotte.
“More importantly, it gives us an idea and a glance into what we’re doing in our own community,” she said.
Two tables near the center of the ballroom, where all the women seated were wearing bright red, stood out. The women were members of the Charlotte chapter of the sorority Delta Sigma Theta.
One of those members, Cassandra Black, said it was inspiring listening to Price speak.
“I think that’s very important to bring young people together and to hear about how he made such an impact in history,” said Black, a graduate of Winston-Salem State University, where she was a member of the sorority.
It was an interesting coincidence the holiday fell on the same day as President Donald Trump’s inauguration, she said. Black said she was happy the breakfast gave people something else to do that day.
Keith Stanley, who was attending with his wife, Natanja, sat with other University City Partners employees throughout the event. He said it was good to see the YMCA bring people from across the city together to celebrate King and reflect on how his vision has impacted Charlotte.
The couple said they attended the breakfast in past years and always find it inspiring. Natanja said she appreciated having Price as the keynote speaker.
“I loved how he was able to tie together sports, which is so important to this region, to the vision of Dr. King and the work that needs to be done,” she said. “I thought it was fantastic.”
Prayer march in east Charlotte
The MLK holiday is known for marches and volunteering.
Bundled in warm clothes to protect them from the freezing temperature, people huddled in the parking lot of the Sugaw Creek Recreation Center in east Charlotte Monday afternoon, getting ready to march to the intersection of West Sugar Creek Road and Reagan Drive.
Some came with signs displaying calls for an end to gun violence or providing housing to people experiencing homelessness, while others could take a sign provided by the Hidden Valley Community Association, which organized the event. The group included Hidden Valley residents, family and friends, religious leaders, and City Councilwoman Tiawana Brown.
Marjorie Parker, president of the neighborhood association, said the march is always scheduled on MLK Day because of King’s focus on community and people doing more to take care of one another. The march is now in its third year.
The association has been working with the city to improve the Sugar Creek area, she said, and although there is still work to be done, the yearly march has helped push some changes through more quickly.
Not long after everyone grabbed a sign and listened to a prayer, the group of about 50 people lined up in two rows and began the march out of the park down the sidewalk to a corner by a Shell gas station, chatting with one another and sometimes breaking out into song. Some vehicles passing honked their horns in support.
Charlene Henderson, the communications liaison with the neighborhood association, was joined by her aunt, Mary Henderson, who lives in another neighborhood in Charlotte.
Mary Henderson, who was there to support the march, carried a sign pasted with photos of four of their family members, including her son Jurain. All four of them, she said, died from gun violence.
When she hears of a killing, regardless of the race of the people involved, “I feel the pain” of the families, Henderson said.
“I just wish it would stop and people would talk to each other and talk it out, instead of wanting to kill somebody.”
She said she appreciated the support she received from others at the march.
Not too far from Henderson in line, John F. Walls, a Hidden Valley resident, carried a sign with Martin Luther King Jr.’s face on it, which he said he got in 1982 when civil rights activists passed through Charlotte. He marched next to Odell Weatherspoon, another Hidden Valley resident who said he’s lived in the neighborhood for over 50 years.
Weatherspoon said the march was important to him because he wants to continue passing down MLK’s legacy to future generations, and leave a lasting impact on his community.
“Victory is not here yet,” Weatherspoon said. “There’s a lot of work to do in our own little neighborhood.”
When marchers reached the intersection, Charlene Henderson pulled out a speaker and microphone. People took turns highlighting which churches they attended, led prayers, and spoke about their own experiences losing loved ones to violence.
One woman said she also wanted to put a focus on other topics impacting her loved ones that don’t get as much as attention, such as mental health and suicide prevention. Another said she wanted to do more to take care of people experiencing homelessness and encouraged them to reach out to Mecklenburg County for help.
People being able to grieve and discuss the change they want to see in their community is the point of the march, Charlene Henderson said.
“That’s why we walk,” Henderson said. “That’s what it’s gonna take — us coming together. Unity in the community.”
This story was originally published January 20, 2025 at 5:30 PM.
