Hundreds Celebrate 17th Annual King Day the Dome

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)- Hundreds of people marched to the State House to honor the life and legacy of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.

“It’s always been a tremendous event where we can rally people Black and White coming together all for a common purpose; fighting for the least of these,” said South Carolina Democratic Party chairman Jaime Harrison.
“Those who are struggling to find their place in our society, those are the people that Dr. King fought so hard for.”

King Day at the Dome is a nearly 20 old tradition. Some say they attend the rally every year and will continue to attend as long as injustices exist.

“I’ve lived through all of it. I’ve marched, I’ve sat in, I’ve voted, I’ve helped integrate schools with my children so the struggle has always been there and probably will always be there,” said Mary Easterling. “I always will support not only the NAACP but whomever is struggling for the humanity of mankind, I will be involved.”

Although decades have passed since Dr. King delivered his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, some at the rally say more work needs to be done for America to achieve King’s vision.

“I think he would be proud of the progress but we have had but I don’t think he’d be very happy with the way things are going right now.Not at all, no,” said L.L. Gaddy.  “We have to wake up along with the dream.
Once you’ve had the dream, it’s time to wake up and start working towards the dream, ” said Willie Lee Johnson.