Leslie Mathis-Becton
The Dream Lives On March, in honor of Martin Luther King, will be held on Saturday, Jan, 18, in Clinton. The march will begin at the Clinton Farmers Market and continue to the Sampson County Agri-Exposition Center.
Organizer Leslie Mathis-Becton has been diligently working to bring together the event in the hopes that it resonates with the people of Sampson County. He says everyone from the Clinton City Council to the fire department, as well as local law enforcement, have been helpful in helping him pull the event together.
“I love the people here,” Mathis-Becton said of Clinton, “Mayor (Lew) Starling, Chief (Anthony) Davis, and Fire Department Chief Hagan Thornton, they’re really great. They have been supportive, and I appreciate that.”
But the encouragement hasn’t stopped there. Mathis-Becton said he has been in awe of the support from local businesses in the area as well. “So many places of business have been willing to spread the word, put the flyers in the businesses, and (everyone) really has come together to show hope and positivity toward this march.”
The Dream Lives On March will begin at 10 a.m., but people planning to participate need to gather at the Clinton Farmers Market by 9 a.m. The march will be followed by music and fellowship until 3 p.m.
That evening, a banquet will be held with a charge per person.
Mathis-Becton said he hopes the community will come out to participate in the march. He said children will be placed in the front, “because that is our future.” Elected officials, along with law enforcement, will be placed behind the children, followed by the community, as they march to the Exposition Center.
“This is really special to me,” explained Mathis-Becton. “Having this march, that represents the dream of Dr. King, and it being my father’s birthday, too, it’s just really special. I hope the community comes out, of all races and backgrounds. We have such a diverse community here in Clinton; I love this place.”
He said while most towns have a parade, he felt a march would be more in step with King’s legacy. “I think it’s wonderful that other communities have parades, but Martin Luther King was about marching in unity, moving forward, and I am really hopeful about the idea, itself. It’s new, so I hope that people will embrace it and come out.”
Since moving back to Clinton, Mathis-Becton has been working on putting something like this together through his nonprofit group State of Opportunity of North Carolina.
He said he dropped everything in California two years ago, when his now 98-year-old father needed care. Professionals suggested he be placed in a nursing home, but Mathis said he couldn’t do that.
So, he moved back to Clinton to help care for his father, who, just a couple of months ago, took a “horrible fall” on his electric scooter, causing a broken pelvis, and other complications due to the injuries sustained from the fall.
But hope prevails, as does the dream of Martin Luther King, which just so happens to be his father’s birthday, Mathis-Becton stressed.
“To have so many people already being supportive of this event — I am just really excited bout this, and hope we can do this again every year,” he attested. “With the theme ‘The Dream Lives On,’ we are honoring Dr. King’s legacy by coming together as one community, united in a march that aims to transcend racial divides and reinforce our shared humanity.”