MLK march is about ‘keeping the dream alive’

RUSSELLVILLE — The Rev. B.J. Bonner was 11 years old in the summer of 1963 when the civil rights movement reshaped the South and communities across Alabama saw demonstrations, arrests and violence.

Bonner lived in Gadsden when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. visited the city just days before delivering the “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C. King spoke at local churches and drew large crowds.

Bonner said his father sang in the choir behind King during one of those visits.

“We were children, but we were paying attention,” Bonner said. “We saw people being arrested. We saw people taken to jail. We saw things happening that stayed with us.”

Bonner said the movement did not unfold on a television screen or in another city. It unfolded in his own town among people he knew.

“A lot of us are still carrying those memories,” he said.

Bonner said fear shaped daily life in those years. He recalled one case in which the mother of a friend suffered a violent attack after participating in civil rights activity.

“I won’t name names without permission,” he said. “But I remember what happened. I remember what it cost people. It wasn’t safe — not for anybody.”

Bonner said he also remembers white residents in his hometown who chose to stand publicly in support of the movement.

“You don’t forget that,” he said. “There were people who stood up when it wasn’t easy.”

He said those choices carried risk as well.

“They stood out,” he said. “And people noticed.”

Bonner said he remembers Alabama state troopers arriving in Gadsden under the direction of Al Lingo, then head of the state trooper force. He also remembers clergy who traveled into Gadsden from outside the community to show support.

“There were ministers who came just to be there,” he said. “To show empathy. To stand with people. It told us we weren’t alone.”

Bonner, now a pastor at First Missionary Baptist Church on College Avenue in Russellville and a U.S. Navy veteran, said those memories shape how he sees the present.

Bonner said the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. Day march is not a protest but a commemoration.

“A lot of people think it’s a protest march, but it’s not,” he said. “It’s a march of remembering — remembering how things were, how far we’ve come, and what still matters. We’re not marching in anger. We’re marching in remembrance and hope.”

He said the work of justice and understanding continues even when progress feels slow.

“A lot has been accomplished,” he said. “But there is still work to be done.”

Bonner said he believes goodness outlasts evil. He framed this belief through his Christian faith.

“If we say we are Christians, we have to live it,” he said. “That means loving people. That means forgiving people. That means not letting bitterness own you.

“King wasn’t about division,” he said. “He was about justice and belonging.”

Bonner said he hopes younger generations attend the march not out of obligation but out of curiosity and care.

“I hope they want to understand,” he said. “I hope they want to be part of something bigger than themselves.”

Bonner said history belongs to those who lived it and to those who inherit it. That’s why remembrance matters.

“It’s about keeping the dream alive,” he said. “Not as a slogan but as a responsibility.”