On Friday, March 14, upwards of 250 area residents gathered to demonstrate their solidarity with Ukraine in a nonpartisan march and rally in Kilmarnock.
Through the mile-long “Stand for Ukraine” march through downtown Kilmarnock, participants alternated chants of “We are all Ukrainians!,” “Zelenskyy is a Hero!” and “Slava Ukraine! (Glory to Ukraine!),” reported Lucia Schoelwer. The organizers, Carolyn and Bill Young, served as Peace Corps volunteers in Ukraine during 2005-2007, and said they hold a special place in their hearts for the people of Ukraine.
Carolyn opened the rally with a recollection of her first meeting with her Ukrainian students who demonstrated their solidarity with America following the terrorist attacks on 9/11 with chants of “We are all New Yorkers!” “Now we march with posters held high saying, ‘We are all Ukrainians!’,” she added. Young also read the Ukrainian national anthem, “a sad, doleful anthem… about death, starvation, exile” that reflects Ukraine’s horrific history under Russian rule. The anthem concludes, “We’ll not spare either our souls or bodies to get freedom.” The crowd chanted loudly, “Slava Ukraine!”
The Rev. Tyron D. Williams, senior pastor at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Wicomico Church, shared reflections on the words of The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and their applicability in 1963 to the current war.
“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetuate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”
– MLK
Lauding the strength and resilience of the Ukrainian people and their courageous president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, elicited more cheers and chants of “Slava Ukraine!” Citing the First Amendment rights of Americans to “stand with and support those in need, such as the people of Ukraine” whose sovereign and democratic country was invaded by Russia in an “evil act,” Rev. Williams said “we must do the right thing that is honorable and just, not only in the eyes of man, but also in the eyes of God. As a tribute and reminder of who and what America stands for,”
Rev. Williams ended the rally by leading the crowd in singing “America, The Beautiful.”
