Roland Martin headlines UNCW’s MLK Celebration

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Tonight there was a sold out crowd at UNCW’s Kenan Auditorium to hear Roland Martin give the 2017 UNCW MLK Celebration keynote address.

Martin talked about the inauguration, politics and of course Dr. King.

But when the crowd left, they were challenged to look more at the message Dr. King portrayed and not just see what is on the surface.

“The challenge to people is to not just be happy celebrating king, how is his life impacting you to make you motivated to do more.” Martin said.

National TV show host Roland Martin spoke to nearly a thousand eager listeners at the UNCW MLK celebration Thursday night addressing our state, race relations and telling people to act.

“When you look at what the Republican legislature just did, this whole naked power grab, then of course you have Donald Trump coming in with some outlandish policies as well, folks need to be challenged to stand their ground.” Martin urged.

His message was also to try to unify crowds as he challenged them to be the change right now in the world and don’t just focus on what Dr. King did in the past.

With the inauguration coming tomorrow and some people talking about divide in the country, organizers hoped the event would bring people together.

“We certainly don’t want to see any fractured relationships in the community so we just hope that this can be a unifying piece tonight at UNCW.” Upperman Center Program Coordinator Emmanuel Mitcham said.

Another thought that Martin shared is that Dr. King is not just a mascot for change, his words need to inspire people to be the change they want to see.

The event was sponsored by the Upperman African American Cultural Center and our very own Amanda Fitzpatrick moderated a special Q&A with Mr. Martin following the address.