Camp Verde’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day March took place on Monday, Jan. 15, for the 13th consecutive year.
The event was started by Chandler Plante, who started planning the event when he was 5 years old, with the first march taking place when he was 6. Plante, now 18, has continued to organize the event each year since then.
Plante was always reading and going to the library as a child, and was fascinated with books about presidents. While browsing, he happened to find a book on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“At that point, my mind was filled with a bunch of questions as to why he was doing it, where and how,” Plante said. “The more I read and learned about Dr. King, I just had an inspiration and a passion for the way that he went about these issues.”
Plante continued to research King and decided that he wanted to honor King’s legacy with a march. Plante explained that the march is not an act of protest but an act of commemoration. The walk started at the gymnasium, then looped around Main Street.
The march was followed by a ceremony with a welcoming address by Camp Verde Mayor Dee Jenkins. Plante then spoke about his thoughts on the march and why he continues to organize it every year.
To get community youth involved in the event, Plante reached out to schools to find students interested in participating in an essay contest on King’s work, and the winner of the contest read their essay during the ceremony.
Plante said that it is one thing to discuss community service, but to act it out is much more beneficial in solving problems. Each year, the event has included a community service activity following the march and ceremony.
“I wanted to do something that could be more applicable and relatable to everybody that attends,” Plante said. “Service is one of those things that can apply to all of our lives, whether you’re a second-grader or a senior citizen.”
Past activities have included picking up trash, cleaning up the cemetery and helping an elderly couple with yard work. This year, there was a benefit carwash for a young boy in the community suffering from leukemia.
Plante also addressed the misconception that the only thing King did was to address separation of races and to bring about equality.
“It’s so much more than that, which is why I host the event each year and why I believe other people should come as well,” Plante said. “The characteristics and the approaches to issues that Dr. King used are so beneficial once we actually begin to dissect them and look at the peace that he brought.”
