 "Photo: Andrew Rogers")
 "Photo: Andrew Rogers")
Austin residents marched in a cold, steady rain Monday to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and to remember that his struggle for social justice is not over.
The Austin Area Heritage Council coordinated the 15th annual Community March, which began at the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. at UT's East Mall and ended at the Capitol. Huston-Tillotson University hosted an afternoon program of cultural events after the march. In past years, more than 15,000 people have participated in the march, though last year's event was cancelled due to ice storm warnings.
"It's a reminder of the visions of MLK," said Carol Wright, heritage council chairwoman. "It's also a call to action. I think people in Austin need to remember all the things that Dr. King fought for, not just civil rights."
Wilhelmina Delco, former speaker pro tempore of the Texas House of Representatives, said education and legislation are two essential
components of social progress.
"Do you understand that the ballot must back up the books and the books the ballot?" Delco asked the crowd in her speech. "Do you understand that you have one vote that no one can take from you but you?"
United Way Capital Area President David Balch said inequality is still a problem in Austin.
"Austin is like an onion, and when you peel it away, what you see underneath is not always what you see on the surface," he said. "I see a community that in 1999 had a poverty rate of 7.7 percent, but last year that increased to 10.8 percent. That's almost a 50-percent increase."
Frankie Fowler, an Austin resident who attended the event, said King would still be fighting the same battles if he were alive today.
"We still have a sense of distrust," Fowler said. "I mean, I'm standing here and I'm looking at people and people won't even make eye contact. We're all supposed to be here because we all remember [King] and what he stood for, and can we at least acknowledge one another?"
Kevin Foster, a UT education assistant professor, said he believes segregation remains in the classroom because not all students have access to health care, good food and Advanced Placement classes.
"It's disguised," he said. "We have the illusion of integration."
Brandy Carroll, an architecture graduate student, said the 2008 election is evidence of social progress.
"It's great to see," Carroll said. "Being a black woman, I don't know who to vote for because [Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama] represent me. I think it's great."
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