MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his final speech in Memphis at the Historic Mason Temple.
Monday, a song echoed throughout the building giving thanks. Several people also gave speeches remembering the legacy Dr. King left behind.
Nine people were honored for carrying out Dr. King’s legacy. Sanitation workers from the 1968 strike were also recognized.
“It was rough though. Wasn’t making no good work. Wasn’t making a lot of money, but we was working,” H.B. Crockett, a former sanitation worker, said.
Crockett wished Dr. King was still alive to see the impact he left on the Bluff City.
“He did a good job though. He brought a lot of folks together,” Crockett told WREG.
“He fought for our rights so we could be as equal as everyone else,” Rakesha Kelley, a youth ambassador in Memphis, said.
“Everybody talks bad about the young people,” she explained. “We need to show them different. We need to show them that we’re better than what they say.”
Kelley said young people doing better is what Dr. King would have wanted.
City leaders encouraged the next generation to not only have a dream, but also to be the dream.
“I think we have a lot to prove to the community,” Kelley said.
Kids hit the streets to help clean up their neighborhoods after the program, because MLK Day wasn’t just another day out of school – it was a chance to remember and give back.
