news-record.com

GREENSBORO — At the height of the civil rights movement, participants braved high-pressure water hoses and attack dogs, bomb threats and burning crosses.

Monday, people committed to remembering those times endured frigid temperatures to recall the struggle — and its most celebrated leader.

Events were held throughout the city to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the ideals of the holiday's namesake. Through service, speeches and song, Triad residents were reminded to keep King's dream alive.

* * *

Betty Collins watches the King Day parade every year. Her house is on the city street named after the civil rights leader.

She remembers the world before King's impact.

"I'm from South Carolina. We had to walk five, six miles down the road to school while the white kids rode by on the bus," said Collins, 72.

And she marvels at the changes that have occurred during her lifetime. During Monday's chilly parade, she watched racially integrated high school marching bands perform their routines.

"We've come a long way," Collins said.

* * *

For Wayne Kimball Jr., King is more than an icon. The leader is his idol.

"I always respected him and the things he did," said Kimball, a 19-year-old freshman at N.C. A&T. "It's become a passion of mine."

So what would King have to say about the state of race relations and African Americans in the 21st century?

Five years ago, Kimball tried to answer that question, writing a speech modeled after King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

"I think he'd be pleased with the things African Americans have done," Kimball said. But in his speech, Kimball contrasts those gains with some of the ills that still face black Americans.

"I felt it was best to approach it with the positive and the negative," he said.

He updates the speech regularly.

This year's version, which he gave Monday afternoon during an A&T outreach to the community, included references ranging from racial strife in places such as Jena, La., to the broad support of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

* * *

Every year Harry W. Poole makes the trek, putting one foot in front of the other for peace.

"Most people come out for the parade. I've seen enough parades in my life," said Poole, a 61-year-old Greensboro native.

"A parade is for when you want to see something. I want to come out and be involved. A walk gets you involved."

Monday afternoon he walked with about 30 others, all participating in the annual Peace Walk from MLK Drive to Greensboro College.

As he moved forward, he reached back into his memory. The city has made tremendous strives toward equality, he said.

"People say nothing has changed. That's bull. In 1968, there wouldn't have been any older white people out here walking," he said, gesturing to the diverse mix of ages and races making their way through downtown. "It would have been all college students."

"There would have been people standing out here jeering us. That's just the way it was."

It's a memory he's happy to leave in the past.

Contact Lanita Withers at 373-7071 or lanita. withers@news-record.com