Desert Hot Springs community gathers to honor MLK with walk

Community members in Desert Hot Springs gathered for a Peace and Unity Walk on Monday in honor of the late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Over a hundred people marched from City Hall to the gymnasium at Desert Hot Springs High School.

Participants in the walk included local leaders and children from Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops. One troop waved an American flag as they walked down Pierson Boulevard. When they arrived at the gymnasium, participants were treated to music, singing and a discussion on Dr. King.

This is the third year of the walk, and Mayor Scott Matas said there have been as many as 400 people participating in the past. He personally considers Dr. King to be one of his heroes and said he was an example to look up to in order to lead a city as diverse as Desert Hot Springs.

“We have to be able to get out there and really represent what his legacy was and that’s giving equal rights to all individuals, all humans,” he said.

Jerrol Pope, a local minister who has lived in the city for seven years, saw Dr. King as a very positive influence on the young generation.

“I think they may not see color lines,” he said. “I don’t think they see it, or beginning not to see it.”