NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Hundreds of people packed the Attucks Theatre in Norfolk on Monday to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and marched to Norfolk’s MLK monument on Church Street.
During the ceremony, city and community leaders shared the importance of MLK Day.
Longtime WAVY-TV 10 anchor Don Roberts shared a poem about Dr. King. He then invited kids from the audience to join him on stage to truly make the day memorable.
“The children with futures at stake are finally coming true,” Roberts said.
Julian Garner and Katherine Cox were among the 30-plus kids on the stage. In alphabetical order, Roberts shared facts about prominent African Americans.
“I learned a lot,” said Julian Garner. “Learned about my history and to learn the importance of Martin Luther King Jr.”
Garner’s grandmom, Sandie Elliott said: “I was really excited because I’ve been to quite a few of these and I’ve never been to one where they actually had the children come up on the stage. I thought that was very nice. Don Roberts spoke about planting the seed and I believe that when you plant a seed when they are children it does stay with them. Hopefully, whatever he learned today it will grow up inside of him and he will do the same thing and help someone else.”
Roberts challenged kids to “pass all tests” because “your best may be good enough one day to save my life.”
