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Airmen dedicate 4 days to honor MLK

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Travis Edwards
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan --  
Airmen paid homage to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during four days of events held here ending Jan. 17, 2014.

The events kicked off Jan. 14 with a luncheon put on by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. committee here, including a speech from Lt. Col. Kirk Rowe, Air Force clinical psychologist. He shared his vision of what he felt MLK Day really means.

"'This holiday, (is) not merely to honor (African Americans and King), but to celebrate the values of equality, tolerance, and interracial sister and brotherhood,'" said Rowe, who is deployed from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and a native of South Lyon, Mich., quoting Loretta S. King. "'Whether you are African American, Hispanic, or Native American, whether you are Caucasian, Asian American, or whoever you are, you are part of the great dream Martin Luther King, Jr. had for America.'"

King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington D.C., advocating the end of racism and demanding equality across America.

On Jan. 15, more than 30 members of the Transit Center banded together to clean up a running trail located within the confines of the base. The cleanup was their way of giving back as part of "A Day of Service" to honor King.

"It gives me inner joy to know that I am participating in something so meaningful," said Staff Sgt. Velinzala Wallace, a participant of the cleanup deployed from Luke AFB, Ariz., and native of Detroit, Mich. "I'm happy to be helping out."

On the third and fourth day, Booker and other Airmen joined together in guided talks about King's dream and what it meant to each of them.

"He was a great leader and I feel - growing up in the south - there is still a lot of discrimination, but we've still come so far from where we used to be as a nation," said Senior Airman Brittany Booker, the MLK committee president, who is deployed from Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., and a native of Marietta, Ga. "(King) fought for so much in our country and I wanted to give (Transit Center at Manas members) the opportunity to voice what they felt was 'Living the Dream,' and how it fits in today's society."

MLK Remembrance Day is on Jan. 20.