Recent Articles
- CGW’s North Service Center remains closed for building maintenance
- Transitioning to the role of a stay at home mom
- APSU’s Downtown Art Gallery opening was the highlight of November’s Art Walk
- Blue Star Memorial marker dedication Monday
- Clarksville Dental Center hosting candy buy back to benefit the United Way
- APSU to celebrate National Distance Learning Week with several events
- Odom: ‘The court has ruled. Goins, Hargett do your job!’
- Patton to be portrayed at APSU library Athenaeum
- WKAG disputes Charter’s attempted justification for their removal of Channel 3
- Businesses in Historic Downtown Clarksville to hold Holiday open house
- Sluggish APSU Governors ease past Oakland City
- Home-Canned Apple Pie Filling
- APSU student Costello debuts photography and collage exhibit at Trahern
- Clarksville radio personality Hank Bonecutter performs at Zanies
- Friday night pay what you can to see ‘A streetcar named Desire’ at the Roxy Theatre
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MLK March 2009 honors advocate for civil, human rights
On the eve of the inauguration of the nation’s first African American president, Barack Obama, Clarksvillian’s today celebrated and honored one of the country’s foremost civil rights leaders, the late Martin Luther King Jr.
The March after leaving Public Square
Today, Martin Luther King’s fight for equality and justice was commemorated with a a parade that culminated with formal ceremonies at Public Square in downtown Clarksville, and in front of the Criminal Justice Complex.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the American civil rights movement. He is an icon in the history of human rights.
A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career, leading the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott. He co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president.
King’s efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, raising public consciousness of the civil rights movement and establishing himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history.
In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the Vietnam War, both from a religious perspective.
City Councilor Candy Johnson in the foreground
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in 1986. If King were alive today, he would be 80 years old.
Sunday night, President-elect Barack Obama stood before the seated Lincoln in the (President Abraham) Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., fulfilling a dream as he overlooked the land where King stood when he made his famous speech “I have a dream” speech.
The dream is here, and in Clarksville, today’s celebration was a mix of our historical past and our future of change.
About Christine Anne Piesyk 
In my 40+ years in media, I have worked as feature writer, investigative reporter, editor, publisher, and film/theater/arts critic. I brought my liberal New England activism to Tennessee several years ago, having finally completed a mid-life undergraduate degree in community organizing and women's studies, and an MA in Interdisciplinary Arts with a concentration in Alzheimer's Disease. I served on Future Search Commissions for two colleges and on homelessness for the City of Northampton (MA), where I applied some of my undergrad work in urban planning and community development. I am a member of FreeThinkers for Peace and Civil Liberties. I am a certified storm spotter just because weather fascinates me. In my spare time (define spare time please?) I am a voracious reader, obsessive movie buff, ballroom dancer, and classical music junkie. I also create sci-fi/fantasy and renaissance costumes. I see life as an ongoing opportunity for learning and adventure (one current interest is mastering preparation of foods from India and Southeast Asia). My dream: a return trip to Machu Picchu. After all, the best things still to come. All posts by Christine Anne Piesyk as presented on Clarksville Online are copyright ©2006, 2007, 2008 to the author.
Email: womanspeak@gmail.com
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