Martin Luther King, Jr. – Parker Williamson remembers him fondly. Parker was a seminary student at Union in Richmond when King issued the call for folks to come to join his march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama . Williamson and another seminary classmate boarded a train and headed south.
 
In his own words, Williamson shares, “King stood on the back of a truck with a bullhorn in his hands. He had absolute control of the crowd. His words were firm. Recalling ‘Bloody Sunday,’ when dogs and police carrying billy clubs attacked those who marched across the bridge in Selma , King spoke in no uncertain terms that the Montgomery marchers must be non-violent. If attacked, we were to fall on our knees and call on the name of Jesus. That was King’s instruction, and everyone followed it.”
 
(To read the full speech "Our God is marching on," click here) 
 
Williamson continues, “It took four days to march from Selma to Montgomery . The crowd swelled along the way. Common conveniences were uncommon. Potra-johns were affixed to flatbed trucks that traveled with us along the highway. Many marchers slept on the side of the road. Others slept in church buildings. Food was offered to us by those who gathered along the route. Whites had closed many of the grocery stores, restaurants and shops. But we often experienced grace, provided by those in whose stead we marched. On one occasion, I remember a black hand jutting toward me from the roadside crowd, holding a piece of a sandwich. I was deeply moved by that offering. These people could not risk joining us, but they sustained us.”
 
“As we approached Montgomery , the tide of public opinion began to turn. King had been informed at the start that we would not be allowed any further than the Capitol steps. Those steps were blocked by a well-armored line of state police in riot gear. But along the way, Governor Collins from Florida joined King at the front of the march. He had negotiated with Governor Wallace to allow King to enter the state house and speak on behalf of the people. A podium was set up in front of the building. We sang ‘We shall overcome’ until we couldn’t sing anymore.”
 
“Five months later, we didn’t have to sing it anymore. Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”
 
When asked, “What was it all about?” Williamson responded, “African Americans had to bear arms for this country, but they could not vote for those who sent them into battle. When some who protested that injustice were bloodied on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, I knew I had to go to Alabama. We went there to do for our brothers and sisters what they could not do for themselves. It was just the right thing to do.”