Annual MLK march, service in Poughkeepsie

POUGHKEEPSIE – Speeches, songs and a march through the City of Poughkeepsie marked the annual Real Moral Majority Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day program on Monday.  Local community activists spoke about the life and times of the civil rights leader.

Dutchess County Legislator Joel Tyner, who organized the annual rally, addressed a theme that local money should be used for youth programs, not to build a new county jail.

“If Martin Luther King were in Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County in 2013, he would be thinking about all these programs for kids that have been eliminated, while isn’t it so ironic that the folks in power have tens of millions of dollars of our money to spend on jail expansion,” Tyner said.

Long-time community activist Mae Parker-Harris also called for more programs for the youth in the community.