Hundreds of people gathered this morning to march in solidarity and celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The annual event was organized and facilitated by the Eugene-Springfield National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The NAACP is one of the largest civil rights organizations in the United States. One of the primary causes it champions is the equal treatment of people of color and educating the public about the effects of racial discrimination.
“It means the struggle is as old as the nation, and it’s not over yet,” Eugene-Springfield NAACP President Emeritus Charles Dalton said. “We have yet to achieve liberty and justice for all and equal protection under the law. So we have work to do.”
Before the march commenced, members of the Eugene-Springfield NAACP, including Dalton, welcomed the crowd and discussed the impact of Luther King’s legacy. Clouds of breath were visible in the 31-degree weather as the audience observed and reacted by cheering for speakers on stage.
“I am really happy about the turnout,” Andiel Brown, assistant director of operations at Eugene-Springfield NAACP, said. “It’s very cold, but yet people still bundled up and came out.”
Speakers quoted Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech and discussed American exceptionalism and how to create a spirit of justice and equality in Eugene.
The march began at approximately 10 a.m. at Autzen Stadium, located on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, weaved through Coburg Road and ended at the Shedd Institute on East Broadway. Eugene Police Department was present to ensure the safety of the march as it progressed through downtown.
Community member Jazzmen Manning, Eugene resident since 1999, has never missed a march. Manning said the event was a way of “honoring” her ancestors and elders.
Manning expressed some concern over President Donald J. Trump (who had been inaugurated as the 47th president a mere hour earlier) and said she hopes the community stays “unified and not dispersed.”
“We have a small Black community here, and I feel like we need support,” Manning said. “It’s important for us to come together and say we’re here and we’re not going anywhere. We’re raising our families here. We’re building our businesses and we need the same support as bigger communities.”
According to the 2020 United States census, the Eugene population is 78% white. To some attendees, the disparities have not gone unnoticed and have caused contention in the past.
“I think Eugene, as far as handling social issues, it can be a hit or miss,” Brown said.
Brown said he thinks the city is making a “concerted effort to change the narrative of the history” of how people in Eugene treated “non-white people in the past.”
Once at the Shedd Institute, attendees gathered inside the building awaiting the celebration that ran from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
“We have too many lies that pass for truth, and we have to get honest,” Dalton said. “We’re not there yet but we can still make it. It’s a multi-generational job. No one generation is going to straighten this out. Lord knows, I try.”
