GASTONIA, N.C.,None — It was at the corner of Marietta Street and Long Avenue in Gastonia where the passion for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream, and those considered dream keepers intersected.
Their names were etched in the monument that bears the words "I have a dream" in the native language of every current resident of Gaston County.
Jennifer Davis is a key political figure, former school board member, and community activist.
She was inspired to lead a charge for change after she was denied a meal as a girl at a Durham restaurant.
"It's attitude that I have that I hope all of you will have to go into this world and do something," she said.
Richard Penegar made the Wall Street Journal when he organized a combined 50-year high school reunion with graduates of Gastonia's all black high school.
He and his wife Lucy helped develop Unity Place, connecting an African Methodist church with arts in downtown Gastonia.
"We need each other. We are brothers and sisters together," Lucy said.
Rev. Estaban Solis spent most of his adult life helping Hispanics in Gaston County make a connection in a new world.
"To God be the glory for giving Dr. King his vision," Solis said.
Each year, Gaston County ministers make a call to order here and add names to the monument to keep the dream a goal for all.
"We have got to continue to preach and teach the philosophy that we all must work together," said organizer Ben Hinton.
WSOC
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