WHEELING — More than 100 people came together on a beautiful winter’s day to join together and march across part of Wheeling in support of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s activism and interest in civil rights.

The crowd marched from the Windmill atop Martin Luther King Blvd. to the Federal Building down the street Sunday afternoon, escorted on both ends by police. The march was one of numerous events held over the weekend for the Wheeling Area Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration 2023.

Ron Scott Jr., chair of the MLK Celebration Committee, said he was extremely pleased with how many events the committee was able to pull together.

“I’m excited. I feel like this weekend has been the first time since I’ve been a part of the committee that we’ve had a full weekend, where there was something impactful, mindful and community-organized for every day from Friday to Monday,” he said.

The celebration began Friday evening with a Shabbat service at Temple Shalom. On Saturday, debate and discussion was held with high school and college students at Wheeling University, with Sunday holding the march, the presentation of MLK and Rosa Parks Awards at West Virginia Northern Community College, a community banquet and an interfaith worship service.

This morning, an MLK Awards breakfast is being held at 9 a.m. at Laughlin Memorial Chapel, with awards being presented to the MLK Contest winners immediately after.

Special programming for children aged 5-12 will be held at 10:30 a.m. at Laughlin Memorial Chapel.

Looking ahead, Scott hopes to expand the march into a major event, with more interaction among participants and more opportunities to learn.

“I have been wringing my hands because I want to do more with this march,” he said. “I want to extend it a little bit, I want to have stations for the march — one station where people are performing, a station where people are re-enacting the Letter from Birmingham Jail — anything that makes the march more interactive.”

The march was joined by numerous local groups, including Scouts BSA Troop 5 and representatives from Bridge Street Middle School, and included participants from young elementary schoolers to more senior activists.

“We have four citizenship badges, and it’s such a core aspect of Scouting, especially if your scouts aren’t necessarily from such a diverse troop,” said Scoutmaster Eric Halicki. “It’s important that they get out there, see the diversity in the world, work for social justice, and see how that integrates with citizenship. … I’m real proud of these boys. I think they did a lot of great work in terms of citizenship.”

Wheeling native Charaun “CJ” Goodwin, currently a cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys, and Bridgeport resident Jerry Moore Sr. were selected to receive the Martin Luther King Jr. Award at the ceremony following the march. Bridgeport resident Sheila McGhee and Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling Executive Director Becky Shilling-Rodocker were awarded the Rosa Parks Award.

At the awards presentation, NAACP and other local organizations were on hand to assist with voter registration and to provide access to health services. Wheeling City Council member Rosemary Ketchum said those organizations’ work was incredibly important as they helped make up for lack of access to key resources, which are commonly denied or made less accessible to marginalized communities or groups.

“It’s incredibly important that we’re able, as a city, to organize around Martin Luther King Day, and acknowledging a whole host of histories and realities for the Black community,” Ketchum said. “… Historically, we know that disenfranchised communities are far less likely to register to vote, and to go out to vote. … We also have an opportunity to measure health metrics — we know that Black folks are disproportionately affected by medical issues like high blood pressure

“… At the city of Wheeling, we’re so grateful, because we’re working every day to be the Friendly City, the inviting city, the welcoming city. Events like this, I think, prove that we’re on our way to becoming that.”