Dozens of Elon students turned out Monday morning for a “Freedom Journey” community march, followed by service activities at Elon First Baptist Church and Kopper Top Life Learning Center, which served as reminders of how civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King Jr. shaped a movement a generation ago to advance equality for all people.
The Freedom Journey celebrated the growth and development of the nation and local community as well as to commemorate the sacrifices made in the civil rights struggle. Organizers described the demonstration as a symbolic burial of prejudice and oppression.
Elon’s Black Cultural Society led the charge in conjunction with Elon’s Gospel Choir, which accompanied the marchers in song from the starting point at the Academic Village Plaza.
“Marches were significant in the civil rights era because they were nonviolent demonstrations that swayed public opinion of the movement,” said Keith McDaniel, pastor of the Baptist church. “Today was a reminder of that rich history.”
By late morning, students and other local volunteers, including school children off for the national holiday to commemorate King’s legacy, were hard at work painting rooms, disinfecting toys and clearing leaf debris from the gardens of the church. Others had left for Kopper Top, a therapeutic horseback-riding center in southeast Guilford County.
“Today is a day to give back,” said Elon senior Renee Gilmer, of South Orange, N.J. “There are a lot of people who paved the road for me to come to Elon. … This isn’t about color or gender, it’s about showing youth that this is what you should do as a community to come together.”
The Day of Service and Freedom Journey concluded a weeklong series of events on campus to commemorate King’s life. The theme of this year’s events is “His Past. Your Future. One Dream.”