‘Dr. King made the ultimate sacrifice;’ Miami Valley celebrate MLK’s legacy – WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio

DAYTON — People in our area and across the country honored Doctor Martin Luther King Junior on Monday.

Dr. King was assassinated in 1968 but his message of love and unity still resonates with people today.

>>PHOTOS: Dayton celebrates MLK’s legacy with march

News Center 7′s Gabrielle Enright said the cold weather did not stop people from marching and honoring a man who did so much.

“Dr. King made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Angela Worley, Dayton Pubic School Coordinator of Community Outreach Family Engagement and Student Activities. “He gave his life for helping others for what he believed was right.”

What Dr. King believed in was equality for everyone, something he spoke about in Alabama and Washington D.C. before he was shot and killed in April 1968.

>>Photos: The life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Enright says Worley helped organize Dayton Public Schools community drive-thru donation event. She said she wanted to continue Dr. King’s message in her own way.

“This really helps us to teach us to take care of our own, to support our own,” said Worley. “We are donating and we are contributing but its all staying right back in our community and right back supporting us.”

Each person who drove through got a special bag filled with personal care items. It was a small token to let them know someone cares.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: MLK Day events planned across the Miami Valley

Enright says Dayton’s chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the First African American sorority, also stepped up and helped made a difference in their community, just like Dr. King did.

“(Monday) Today is Martin Luther King Day and as you know he was a community servant,” said Cynthia Booker-Neilson. “This day we celebrate MLK not as a day off, but a day of service, our mission is service to all mankind.”

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: City of Dayton to hold events commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The City of Fairborn also hosted several events in honor MLK Day. About two dozen people took part in a unity walk and then many participated in an art and essay contest.

Martin Luther King Junior day was officially recognized as a national holiday in 1986.

January 15 was chosen because it is Doctor King’s birthday.

King at the age of 6. (Handout)

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