Marathon Park hosts MLK Jr Day celebration

“There is nothing more powerful in all the world than an idea whose time has come.”

Those words from French writer Victor Hugo were quoted by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he spoke in Marathon Park during a visit to Wausau in May 1967.

King told the crowd that the idea whose time had come was “the idea of freedom and human dignity,” while also acknowledging the unfinished work of the civil rights movement.

“And the long and sometimes turbulent struggle to bring into full realization the idea of freedom and justice, we have made some significant strides,” King said. “But we must also confess that we still have a long, long way to go before the problem of racial injustice is solved in our country.”

King’s visit to Wausau was part of “Center Week,” an end-of-semester event hosted by Marathon County Center University, now known as the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point at Wausau.

By 1967, King was internationally recognized for his leadership in the civil rights movement and his commitment to achieving change through peaceful, nonviolent protest.

During his speech in Marathon Park, he declared segregation “dead as a doornail.”

Marathon Park again served as a gathering place Friday to honor King’s legacy during a celebration marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Ron Alexander, one of the event’s organizers, said King’s message of justice remains relevant.

Alexander spoke last week with WXCO’s Chad Holmes ahead of the celebration.

“Dr. King said something about justice for one group implies that we need to have justice for all peoples,” Alexander said.

Alexander said King’s teachings on nonviolence continue to guide his own activism, particularly at the local level.

“I’m personally involved in trying to resist and deal with some of the forces that the federal government is bringing to our local communities, especially ICE and the harassment and the threat to our immigrants and our brown and Black neighbors,” he said.

Alexander said embracing King’s values of equality, justice and unity can help create a stronger and more welcoming community.

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