On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Jan. 16, citizens of the Riverside community gathered at Bordwell Park to partake in the 19th Annual Martin Luther King 3K Walk-A-Thon. Registration began at 8:30 a.m. at the park, which is located on Martin Luther King Blvd. All participants received a special T-shirt commemorating the event.
By 9:30 a.m., the park was bustling with about 100 participants, with even more filing into the parking lot.
The walk began at 10 a.m., starting at Bordwell Park. About halfway into the walk, participants stopped at the MLK statue located on 9th Street in front of City Hall in order to honor the man who introduced equality and freedom for African Americans. After stopping at the statue, participants ended the walk at the Riverside City College Library where an award ceremony took place.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. statue is very detailed. There are events from the Civil Rights Movement etched onto every part of the statue. The statue’s detail includes etched pictures of Rosa Parks on MLK’s left knee and a picture of several civil rights activists on the chest of the statue.
“When I hear the words ‘civil rights,’ I tend to think of the Civil Rights Movement,” Dominic Sabido, sophomore, said.
When Sabido was asked what civil rights meant to him, he answered, “A civil right is a right that the government grants its citizens. If we [citizens] hear that a right has been violated, we get very upset.”
“Civil rights are my rights as a United States citizen,” Kristina Fernandez said.
Fernandez mentions these rights are important because they are the rights of citizens to freedom and liberty.
Sabido added these rights are very important to the U.S. citizens because our country is commonly known for having freedoms other countries do not have.
