Teens Begin 50-Mile March From Mississippi to Memphis to Mark King Assassination

A group of teenagers from Mississippi and their mentor, Jarvis Ward, right, say a prayer before launching a 50-mile march to Memphis as a tribute to slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on Saturday, March 31, 2018, in Dundee, Miss. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz).

By    |   Sunday, 01 April 2018 09:34 PM EDT ET

A group of teenagers has launched a 50-mile walk to commemorate half a century since the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., CBS News reported on Sunday.

The group of six teenagers, along with two adult mentors, began their march from Dundee, Mississippi, and are set to finish it in Memphis, Tennessee, where King was killed on April 4, 1968.

The teens plan to march about 10 to 15 miles a day, taking in community meetings at the end of every day before sleeping each night in a hotel.

They intend to arrive in Memphis on Wednesday, the anniversary of King's assassination, and participate in activities at the National Civil Rights Museum, located at the site where the murder took place.

"Our hope is to not only honor all that Dr. King achieved, but to be part of continuing his work," march organizer Jarvis Ward, who is president of the Pearson Foundation, told CBS.

The Pearson Foundation, a faith-based mentoring program, is leading the event, WLWT-5 in Cincinnati reported.

Damonte Steele, a 15-year-old student at Pearl High School, told CBS that one of the participants in the march is white, which is "a way to show people that you can have friendships with different people of different backgrounds, different races, on all levels."

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A group of teenagers has launched a 50-mile walk to commemorate half a century since the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., CBS News reported on Sunday.The group of six teenagers, along with two adult mentors, began their march from Dundee,...
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