By Joel Spears
Features Editor

ROGERSVILLE - It has been more than 40 years since the death of civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but his legacy has survived and today remains the focus of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
    On Monday Hawkins County celebrated the contributions of Dr. King with the seventh annual M.L.K. Unity March and Service organized by the Greater Hawkins County Ministerial Alliance (GHCMA).
    Led by GHCMA president and founder the Rev. James A. Snapp, who is also pastor of Lyons Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church in Church Hill, marchers assembled in front of the Hawkins County Courthouse under blue skies.
    Following a brief introduction by the Rev. Snapp and a prayer led by Elder Ronald Barfield, marchers followed a
half-mile trek to Russell Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church on Hasson Street, singing the spiritual "We Shall Overcome" as they walked.
    The church service began with a song, followed by a message of unification addressed to a congregation of approximately 75 people.
    In the audience were Hawkins County Mayor Crockett Lee and Rogersville Mayor Jim Sells who spoke briefly regarding the importance of the day and honoring King's legacy.
    Rev. Snapp welcomed attendees to the service, and also offered a message of history and hope.
    "We were a little disappointed with the turnout at the courthouse, but the people who God wanted to be there were there," he began.
    But Snapp also briefly discussed his own memories of the civil rights movement and how it affected Hawkins County's black and white citizens.
    "There has never been a real problem here," he went on to say. "When they integrated the schools in 1963 there wasn't one problem."
    But he emphasized the importance of being a good steward in the community in order to maintain goodwill while offering hope to those who need assistance in times of trouble.
    Following songs performed by the Greater Hawkins County Mass Choir, special guest speaker the Rev. Gerald Jones, pastor of Rogersville First United Methodist Church, delivered his message on the importance of unification in the church.
    Following the ceremony a lunch was held in the basement of Russell Chapel.