Martin Luther King Celebration & March In Historic Downtown Dandridge

Martin Luther King Day Celebration and March in Dandridge, TN, January 18, 2016Staff Photo by Jeff Depew

Martin Luther King Day Celebration and March in Dandridge, TN, January 18, 2016
Staff Photo by Jeff Depew

For the eighteenth year, the Citizens for Justice, Equality, and Fairness held their tribute to the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a march through the streets of Dandridge to the steps of the Historic Jefferson County Courthouse. This year’s program, Standing for Justice, was held in the main courtroom on Monday, January 18, 2016, due to extreme cold, but the frosty weather did not stop the group from making their annual trek from the Dike to honor the late Civil Rights Activist. Students from Jefferson County High School added their voices and talent to the event through song.

King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta,Georgia and was assassinated on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39, in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray. Though Ray confessed to killing Dr. King, he later recanted but was unsuccessful in his quest for a trial by jury and died in prison in 1998 at the age of 70. Interestingly, Martin Luther King Jr’s family believed in Ray’s innocence and King’s son even met with Ray. According to the King Center, a civil trial was held in Memphis on December 8, 1999, the year following Ray’s death, and after four weeks of testimony from 70 witnesses and only one hour of deliberation, the jury unanimously decided that Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination was the result of a conspiracy, a conviction long held by King’s family. Further, they found that James Earl Ray was not the shooter and was, instead, set up to take the fall for the assassination of Dr. King. In 2000 the U.S. Department of Justice released a report that found no evidence of conspiracy. However, the King family consider, with the 1999 jury finding, that the case is closed.

Martin Luther King Day Celebration and March in Dandridge, TN, January 18, 2016Staff Photo by Jeff Depew

Martin Luther King Day Celebration and March in Dandridge, TN, January 18, 2016
Staff Photo by Jeff Depew

Source: K. Depew, News Director