Various events in the county honored the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It started with the Marlboro Branch NAACP’s annual MLK Day parade on Jan. 15.

The cold temperatures didn’t stop the parade participants and those lining the street from celebrating the legacy of King.

The Marlboro School Community Center held an MLK Celebration on Monday.

A power outage did not prevent the festivities from happening.

“A great man who deserves to be celebrated,” said Bishop Ulysses Sullivan, MSCC board member and master of ceremonies, as he asked for a round of applause for King. MSCC Chairman Tyrone Davis said King was one of the highest men he holds in his heart.

“He showed us the way,” he said. “Leading us through the thick and thin.”

Rep. Pat Henegan spoke about the importance of voting and how it matters.

She referenced a speech made by King in 1957 and called the right to vote one of the highest mandates of the democratic tradition.

“Voting gives us power,” she said.

In this country, there are 30 million eligible African Americans to vote in 2022.

“How many will be motivated to come out and vote,” she said.

Henegan used a quote from Marian Wright Edelman saying people who don’t vote have no line of credit with elected people and pose no threat against those who act against our interests.

She left everyone with one strong reminder.

“When you do not vote, you lose your power to complain,” Henegan said. ” Vote. Vote like your life depended upon it.”

Keynote speaker Rev. Jeremy Bethea said he has always been amazed by how short King’s life was.

“In 39 years of living, his legacy states he changed culture,” Bethea said. “He changed a system. He changed a nation. Then even change the world.”

Bethea added lives were better because King was willing to do what others could not do and willing to do what others would not do.

Bethea said King was not working for an improved system but was working for a changed system.

King understand the importance of voting.

“The ability to vote carries with it, the ability to change,” Bethea said. “The way to make your voices heard is at the polls, at the voting booth, and the ballot boxes.”

He concluded by relating that King never gave up and always gave his best.

“He said we all came on different ships, but we are all in the same boat,” Bethea said. “This is why he did what he did. We are all trying to reach the same place—equality.”