Submitted by Pam Jackson 

The Walk to DC from NC.

This morning there was a rally that started around 8:30 a.m. at the Belhaven Town Dock on Wynne’s Gut. Rev. Dr. William Barber II gave greetings and encouraging words to the walkers (he will not be walking because of health) but will appear at specific locations on the walk and will be in Washington, DC on June 15.

Mayor Adam O’Neal gave remarks and spoke of why the front of the stage had a coffin (he stated that’s why we are walking because without proper health care people die). Also there was Bob Zellner, civic rights activist, who will walk to support the cause.

Mayor O’Neal mentioned Barber will go down in history as an intricate part of getting the hospital in Belhaven to reopen, currently in litigation.

People have traveled as far as New Hampshire to be in the walk. Each walker’s shirt signifies which state they are walking for.

Bishop Jackson states, “Stop talking about it if you are not going to be about it! Social action requires social change and you cannot get change without some action.”

This is the second installment in a series of reports on the progress of local pastor George Jackson, who is participating in the 273-mile walk from Belhaven, NC to Washington, DC, as part of a grass-roots program to petition Congress to pass measures to ensre the sustainability of rural hospitals in America. For more information go to www.mlk-sac.com or www.citadeloffaith.net