DOWAGIAC — Cars driving down Main Street in Dowagiac Sunday afternoon were likely to see a line of about 15 individuals, all donning heavy winter coats and fluffy hats. While on a passing glance, the group, made up of all ages and races, may not have seemed to have much in common, they all walked for a common purpose — to honor a legacy of unity and civil rights.

Sunday, Dowagiac church and city leaders hosted an annual march from city hall to Second Baptist Church in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., a leader in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, who fought for racial equality. The march was initially scheduled for Jan. 19, the day before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but was rescheduled due to weather.

Following the march was a chili dinner and service hosted at Second Baptist Church, featuring sermons from Maurice Broadway, pastor at Second Baptist Church, Catrinka Johnson, Pastor at Conner-Mayo African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Chris Momany, pastor at First United Methodist Church.

According to Broadway, Second Baptist has been hosting the event for more than 10 years.

“This is our way of keeping [King’s] legacy going,” he said. “It is still relevant today because many don’t know what he went through during that time or what [African Americans] had to deal with. Many of the young people today don’t know much about that.”

During the ceremony following the march, all three speakers shared a common message that although the U.S. still suffers from the same racism that King faced in the 1960s, residents can help fight it by overcoming their differences, coming together and walking together.

“We have been called to be that link that connects us together,” Johnson said during her sermon. “We have been called to love one another by the trueness that is Christ.”

After Johnson, Momany spoke about his own experiences and the need for the power of love to overcome hate.

Lastly, Broadway took the pulpit at this own church, sharing that he believed people could find peace with each other and learn to care for one another by following principles laid out in the Bible.

“When we love like God said love, he said to love your brother as yourself,” he said. “If you love yourself, and most folk that I know at least like themselves, so if you take care of yourself with compassion, with dutifulness, that is the same care you ought to have for your neighbor.”

Outside of the church, Broadway said he hoped that those who took part in Sunday’s MLK Jr. celebration could be an example to the community — especially to the drivers who saw them walking Sunday afternoon.

“I want those driving by to understand what happened [during the Civil Rights Movement] and why it happened,” he said. “I want people to understand that we have a purpose in coming together.”