LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Over 15,000 guests attended this year’s Dr. Martin Luther King Day of Celebration in Lansing. As celebrations of the life and legacy of Dr. King took place across the county, in Michigan’s Capitol, the keynote speaker was civil rights activist, Ruby Bridges, who at just six years old, was the first black student to be integrated into white schools in the south.
Bridges spoke about her work speaking to groups across the county, and some of the similarities she sees in our country now and the civil rights era she was raised in.
“The war that we are in is good and evil. It has nothing to do with what we look like, that’s only a tool to divide us.” Bridges said. “We have to come together if we are going to save our babies and this world.”
The Dr. Martin Luther King Luncheon event is one of the largest celebrations of its kind in the U.S. For 39 years, it’s been held in Lansing to highlight the activism being done within the community that carries on Dr. King’s legacy.
Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, from Michigan’s 7th district, was also a guest speaker at the celebration. She said events like this help reinvigorate people, and that achieving equal civil rights is a process that young people have played a massive role in and still have a massive role to play.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer gave the opening remarks, highlighting the patriotism MLK displayed in fighting for equal rights.
“Dr. King was a proud American who saw the extraordinary potential of our nation.” Governor Whitmer said. “[He] deeply believed in our national values and worked tirelessly to bring us closer to them.”
Bridges discussed her message alongside State Senator, Sarah Anthony, to a sold-out auditorium, sharing her story and how it played a major role, alongside leaders like MLK, in moving forward equal rights and treatment within the U.S. while also highlighting the work she says is important to continue.
Racism makes us think that we need to only trust people that look like us, and that kind of thinking is killing us all.
Ruby Bridges
