Aryana Noroozi
This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, approximately 1,000 people participated in the 30th annual walk-a-thon organized by the Riverside African American Historical Society. Participants began at the Stratton Community Center in Bordwell Park and walked to the downtown Riverside Public Library.
“[The walk-a-thon] is always going to symbolize unity, because it’s not just African Americans walking, it’s all ethnicities, walking in support of a good cause: togetherness,” said Victoria Brown, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and lifelong resident of Moreno Valley. She walked for her third year, alongside a handful of her sorority sisters. Alpha Kappa Alpha was founded on January 15, 1908.
“I would want the community to know that as long as we continue to support each other, no matter what race, no matter what background that we come from, as long as we continue to support each other, that we can make improvements,” Brown said. “We can make changes, but we have to come together.”
Rose Mayes, president of the Riverside African American Historical Society, said she felt harmony during the event.
“I saw nothing but harmony throughout this whole process, and that gives me hope. This is what Martin Luther King would love to see us doing during this time,” Mayes said. “You can see the diversity here and that is beautiful.”
