On a cold but sunny Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday morning, hundreds gathered at the St. James AME Church at 44 Hildebrand Street in Asheville for a brief service before setting off on a Peace March to Pack Square Park.
Speakers at the church included Rev. James E. Lee, III, Rev. Brent LaPrince Edwards (pastor of the AME church), Dr. Joseph Fox (chair of the Peace March and Rally committee) and Oralene Simmons (founder of Asheville’s MLK Association).
Escorted by the Asheville Police Department and led by a coalition of ministers, the marchers sang traditional songs of the civil rights movement on the short walk to Pack Square Park. Speakers at the Peace Rally included Phyllis Utley (diversity recruiter for AB Tech), Philip Cooper (recipient of the ASCORE award given by UNC Asheville Center for Diversity Education and a staff member at AB Tech) and Manteo Mitchell (indoor track athlete, U.S. Olympic silver medalist and world indoor champion).
All photos by Virginia Daffron
-
- Marchers queued up
-
- Marching onto College Street
-
- Marching with a hoverboard
-
- Interfaith ministers at Pack Square Park
-
- Asheville Middle School cheerleaders
-
- Carmen Ramos-Kennedy, president of the Asheville chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
-
- Asheville Middle School cheerleaders on the march
-
- Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer (left) and City Councilwoman Julie Mayfield
-
- Oralene Simmons, founder of the MLK Association of Asheville & Buncombe County
-
- Crowds gather outside the St. James AME church
-
- Rally at Pack Square Park
-
- Making the turn into Pack Square Park
-
- Inside the St. James AME Church
-
- Doing the twist to fight the cold at Pack Square Park
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.