In what has become a New Haven tradition, Rev. Kennedy Hampton chants to his fellow marchers Wednesday afternoon, taking a circuitous route to and from the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.
鈥淢ade up my mind and I won鈥檛 turn around,鈥� Hampton said.
Now in its 55th year, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Love March, starting with humble beginnings, is now well attended by local and state leaders.
Hampton and other clergy held services soon after the event, telling a story of perseverance and inner strength from King, defying the systemic racism that continues to drive civil rights activists towards meaningful change.
The march also reflected the personal stories of attendees, such as Mary Ransome, who also refused to accept her station in life, and is now a well respected pastor in Hamden.
Ransome said her parents were sharecroppers in the south. She moved to 海角换妻 in 1968 in search of better opportunities.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 wait to leave, got tired of picking cotton with my hands, shaking peanuts with my hands it was just a blessing to come up north.鈥�
Ransome would later become the pastor at the Greater Mt. Carmel Pentecostal Church.
Democratic State Rep. Gary Winfield joined the march and chanted alongside Hampton. Winfield has attended the march since 2006.
He said the march, which started in 1971, reflects how the civil rights icon had such a meaningful impact on people from different walks of life.
The federal government would take until 1983 to make King鈥檚 birthday a national holiday.
But in New Haven, which has a considerable civil rights history, the march proved to have enduring appeal. George W. Hampton, Kennedy Hampton鈥檚 father, started the march after hearing God command him to hold one, announcing that having one would reflect King鈥檚 universal appeal with all humankind,
While many people consider King a hero, his legacy has also been co-opted and sanitized, according to Winfield.
King didn鈥檛 just promote equality; he also promoted action, which Winfield said reflects what he means to residents.
鈥淵ou get this mild version of Martin Luther King, but that's not the complete picture,鈥� Winfield said. 鈥淎nd I think when you come to an event like the Love March, where people recognize and continue to talk about his history, you get a more fulsome version of who Martin Luther King was.鈥�
