XENIA — On a day when the country remembered Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a group of Central State and Wilberforce students were challenged to do more than just dream.

They were dared to take action.

“All of us ought to have a dream but we can not as this country tries to do, leave it in just dream mode, which is what we often do with Dr. King,” the Rev. JD Covington told the more than 100 students who assembled at the county courthouse Monday morning. “Dr. King was more than a dreamer. He was one who moved from dream to reality. What are you doing to move your dream to reality?”

Covington’s charge came after the students braved the arctic-like cold to participate in the annual march from Central State to downtown Xenia, commemorating, remembering, and honoring the civil rights leader.

“It is too often that we look at this day and we reflect on the ‘I Have a Dream Speech,’ ” Covington said. “However, Dr. Martin Luther King had more than just a dream. Dr. Martin Luther King was more than just a dreamer. Dr. Martin Luther King is a man of great courage and great ideals. Today as we commemorate his life, all of us stand on his shoulders. We stand on the shoulders of one who never gave up, never let up, never backed up, and never let anyone cause him to step down … Although being jailed, although being spat at, he never gave up.”

With his voice echoing through a megaphone, Covington mentioned the Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements and questioned what the students were actually doing to make black lives matter and to make Me Too move.

“In a time when we have a president that continues to tell us that he’s going to make America great again, and we yet ask a question, how can we make America great again unless we have good ideals, unless we have good dreams, but unless we have the tenacity of a Dr. Martin Luther King who not only stands up and speaks up, but also does what is necessary to make a dream reality,” Covington said.

The annual march began around 1980 and has continued every year, regardless of weather. It’s organized by the Delta Xi chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, of wich Dr. King was a member.

Hundreds braved icy temperatures to make the from CSU to the county courthouse, a little less than four miles.

https://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/01/web1_DSC_6954.jpgHundreds braved icy temperatures to make the from CSU to the county courthouse, a little less than four miles.

Photos by Scott Halasz | Greene County News Students from Central State and Wilberforce universities march into Xenia on Martin Luther King Jr., Day.

https://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/01/web1_DSC_6942.jpgPhotos by Scott Halasz | Greene County News Students from Central State and Wilberforce universities march into Xenia on Martin Luther King Jr., Day.

Hundreds braved icy temperatures to make the from CSU to the county courthouse, a little less than four miles.

https://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/01/web1_DSC_6944.jpgHundreds braved icy temperatures to make the from CSU to the county courthouse, a little less than four miles.

Hundreds braved icy temperatures to make the from CSU to the county courthouse, a little less than four miles.

https://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/01/web1_DSC_6948.jpgHundreds braved icy temperatures to make the from CSU to the county courthouse, a little less than four miles.

The Rev. JD Covington delivers a speech, imploring students to make their dreams a reality.

https://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/01/web1_DSC_6952.jpgThe Rev. JD Covington delivers a speech, imploring students to make their dreams a reality.