Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) is and was an American hero and icon who sacrificed his life to help bring equality and a higher quality of life to the poor, disenfranchised, and minorities of the United States. To this day, the impact of his legacy reverberates and inspires many throughout the country.

Among those inspired is William Gillespie, a former Marine Corps officer and current member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the same fraternity that Dr. King was a member of and which approximately one-third of its brothers are either active or former service members.

For the last 10 years, Gillespie has taken time out of his work and personal life to help organize the MLK day parade in San Diego, California, because he feels it is imperative to honor his legacy.

“I think it’s absolutely critical to remember the legacy and all the things that he’s done,” said Gillespie. “[The parade] is an important display and representation of the things that he did.”

Growing up in Mobile, Alabama in the 1970s, Gillespie witnessed firsthand the kind of discrimination that MLK labored to end in this country.

Gillespie recalls a story from his childhood in which his mother parked in the front of a grocery store but they both had to walk around to the back of the store for entry to avoid confrontation and potential violence from other shoppers.

“I remember asking ‘Mommy why do we walk all the way around the store when we could’ve walked in through the front?’ and in her nice way, she didn’t really answer, and that was the answer,” said Gillespie. “She knew those conditions, she grew up in Alabama experiencing the harshness of segregation directly… her first obligation was to protect her kids.”

It was a combination of moments like this and the lessons he learned from the legacy of Dr. King that led Gillespie to a life of service for his community through the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and his country through the Marine Corps.