Tyler MLK Rally

TYLER — The Tyler Ministerial Alliance held its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Interaith Rally Monday, and outgoing event chairman Dr. Jerome Milton is pleased. Milton says the usual crowd of 800 to 900 turned out in spite of the weather, and he said State Senator Kevin Eltife offered up a “phenomenal” keynote address.

Eltife shared his personal thoughts about the progress of race relations in East Texas over the past years. He pointed out that when he became mayor in 1996, Tyler didn’t officially observe the day — but the city council passed a resolution about six months later making it an official city holiday. Eltife says that’s just one example of efforts around the city. He remarked that every year, race relations have continued to improve in Tyler, and the community just has to keep working on it. Eltife says honoring Dr. King’s legacy “is not a one day a year event” — that people should live out Dr. King’s dream every day.

As always, the program began with a rally on the Downtown Square at 9:30 a.m., followed by a march down Broadway to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception — the site of a 10:00 service with prayers for peace, awards, Eltife’s keynote presentation, and musical presentations. Milton first brought the march to Tyler 25 years ago and has continued to chair it. Now he and the ministerial alliance are passing the baton to the Tyler Together Race Relations Forum. That announcement was made during the rally, and Milton says it was well-received.