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Hundreds brave single-digit temperatures for Cincinnati MLK Day march

Marchers leave the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to kick off 2024's Martin Luther King Jr. Day events.
Nick Swartsell
/
WVXU
Marchers leave the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to kick off 2024's Martin Luther King Jr. Day events.

Despite frigid weather, hundreds marched through downtown Cincinnati for the annual remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Attendees at the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Day march
Nick Swartsell
/
WVXU
Attendees at the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Day march

It was the 49th year for the march, starting at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and ending at Washington Park.

A subsequent program at Music Hall featured musical performances and three keynote speakers. The program was centered around ideas found in King's final book before his 1968 assassination, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?

Mayor Aftab Pureval at the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Day program at Music Hall
Nick Swartsell
/
WVXU
Mayor Aftab Pureval at the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Day program at Music Hall

Bishop Ennis Tait of New Beginnings Church of the Living God spoke on King's ideas on love. Rickell Howard Smith explored how King wrote about power, focusing on the women who led movements toward equity and freedom. Former Hamilton County Judge Fannon Rucker spoke about justice and its role in King's vision of a world that is equal and fair for all people.

YWCA Greater Cincinnati President and CEO Rickell Howard Smith delivers one of three keynote speeches at the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Day program.
Nick Swartsell
/
WVXU
YWCA Greater Cincinnati President and CEO Rickell Howard Smith delivers one of three keynote speeches at the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Day program.

"Here we are 60 years after this world-famous speech, and we are asking the same questions," Tait said, referring to MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Attendees at the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Day march.
Nick Swartsell
/
WVXU
Attendees at the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Day march.

Mayor Aftab Pureval also gave remarks, noting that the work toward an equitable and just city isn't over.

"We have more work to do on housing," he said. "We have more work to do on public safety. We have more work to do on equity. We have more work to do on poverty. And that's why I was so proud to see so many other community leaders marching with us today."

Nick has reported from a nuclear waste facility in the deserts of New Mexico, the White House press pool, a canoe on the Mill Creek, and even his desk one time.