Sacramento Honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. With Car Caravan

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — As with many events this year, the pandemic has forced people to pivot. But that didn't change the purpose of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration in Sacramento.

The tribute Monday was moving in more ways than one. They drove the message home from behind the wheel, starting at Grant High School and driving through Sacramento. Hundreds of cars drove in a caravan organized by Black Lives Matter Sacramento and the NAACP all in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"I can't believe how well it was done today," Dacha Beckel said.

Beckel lined up to catch a glimpse of RT's historic rosa parks bus rolling down the new route along Marysville Boulevard for the first time.

"It was so uplifting for everybody here. We had people coming out of their apartments, people coming out of their houses, so it was a great, great scene today," she said.

The celebration of Dr. King was a stark contrast to years past where tens of thousands rallied and walked together. This year several hundred cars rolled.

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All were masked and able to maintain social distancing as they drove by the Capitol, Sacramento City College, Oak Park, and on to Sac State.

Annette Austin was glad she could bring her grandchildren and honor Dr. King's legacy.

"Cause there is no normalcy right now. I just want them to feel as though they have something to give," Austin said.

The pandemic and protests at our nation's Capitol have served as an uncomfortable reminder says 74-year-old L.C. Norris.

"People are still not getting the message that we're not together, we are still divided," he said.

Norris has participated in all but one of Sacramento's MLK marches. He says it is important to celebrate Dr. King's birthday because Dr. King's biggest gift was the dream of equality.

"Everybody has to be represented and until America gets that, there's no difference, we're all the same," Norris said.