OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. To commemorate his loss, neighbors gathered for a wreath laying ceremony at 24th and Lake.
- The 4th annual event was put on by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Metropolitan Omaha.
- "It's one thing to just remember his dream and to quote Dr. King, but to also embody and live out what he stood for and what he died for."
- The memorial on 24th and Lake will be renovated within the next couple of weeks.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. His influence was widespread and in North Omaha, the community is commemorating his memory with a wreath laying ceremony on 24th and Lake.
It's the fourth year the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Metropolitan Omaha (IMA) is having this ceremony.
"It's one thing to just remember his dream and to quote Dr. King, but to also embody and live out what he stood for and what he died for."
Reverend Portia Cavitt is the president of the IMA, an organization of pastors whose work embodies what Dr. King stood for.
"We have to continue to work to lift up our civil voices. To make sure that we vote, to bring about the change that we hope to see in this world, and to make this world a better place not only for us living now, but for the future generations that are to come."
It's a chance for neighbors to come out and reflect on Dr. Kings’ legacy and IMA member, Pastor Haywood Wright, did just that.
He remembers when he was seven years old watching the tv, when King's assassination was announced.
"I noticed at that time, even as a child, how it really impacted our people, our culture,” said Pastor Wright. “I have learned to just embrace people and we want to continue on with this wonderful legacy that Dr. Martin Luther King started."
Continuing with that legacy as the fight for racial equality is still ongoing.
"At times, it may not be as prevalent at times, but it is still there."
Which is why the community is honoring the man who had a huge role in the fight for civil rights for all.
"We have to embrace one another and empower the people to be who they are because it's not one race it's the human race,” said Rev. Cavitt.
The memorial here has also needed repairs for quite some time and following this ceremony, those renovations will begin.
