Local civil rights leaders reflect on MLK’s legacy

April 4, 2018 6:13 pm

By: Rebecca Turco

Email: rturco@abc6.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – On the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., local civil rights leaders recall how the reverend’s legacy affected the movement.

Clifford Montiero, a lifelong NAACP member and the former president of the Providence branch, knew Dr. King personally. "When I was in Selma, we had to stand guard outside of his trailer with no guns, because he had committed to nonviolence,” Montiero explained. “Then in the morning, we used to go out to check and see if there were bombs."

Montiero joined several of King’s marches, including the historic March on Washington, where King delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.

"It was like a joyous occasion,” said Montiero, “Up to this point you figured that America didn’t realize how much you were really suffering."

King’s murder made waves through the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. Jim Vincent, who heads the Providence NAACP, sees it as a tragic catalyst: "It was a turning point, because I guess it made America look within and say things were not as good as people thought they were."

Vincent was a high school junior in Boston when King was gunned down. He remembers being in homeroom the next day, when his teacher – a white man – held a moment of silence. "There were five of us boys of color in the class and he said each of our names and said he was sorry, and I just remembered that,” Vincent recalled. “That was something that I thought was profound at the time."

Despite progress that has been made, Montiero believes if King were still alive, he would keep fighting, because there is still injustice for people of color. "He’d say he can’t retire, he has to continue working,” said Montiero. “All of us would love to retire but unfortunately when you’re involved in social issues and social change, it’s a lifetime commitment.”