washington – Thousands gathered on the National Mall on Saturday to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington, saying his dreams had yet to be realized in a country still divided by racial inequality.
“We’ve come a long way in the past 60 years since Dr. King led the March on Washington,” said Alphonso David, president and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum. “Have we reached the top of the mountain? Not yet.” very far.”
The event is hosted by the Kings’ Drum Major Institute and Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network. Numerous black civil rights leaders and a multiracial, interfaith coalition of allies will gather participants in the same venue where as many as 250,000 people gathered in 1963 in what is still considered the largest and most far-reaching racial justice demonstration in U.S. history One of the demonstrations for peace and equality.
Inevitably, Saturday’s demonstrations were a stark contrast to the original historic one. Speakers and banners talked about the importance of LGBTQ and Asian American rights. In 1963, only one person was given a microphone, and many of those who spoke to the crowd were women.
Pamela Mays McDonald of Philadelphia participated in her first parade as a child. “I was 8 years old at the original parade and only one woman was allowed to speak — and she was from Arkansas, where I am — and now look at how many women are on the podium today,” she said.
For some, the contrast is bittersweet. Marsha Dean Phelts of Amelia Island, Florida, said: “I often look back at the reflecting pool and the Washington Monument, and I see that 60 years ago there were 250,000 people, and now it’s just Few.” “People were more excited back then. But the things we asked for and needed, we still need them today.”
As the speakers delivered their messages, they were drowned out by the sound of airliners taking off from Ronald Reagan National Airport. A rugby game is being played in a shopping center near the Lincoln Hotel, while joggers and cyclists go about their daily activities.
The eldest son of the late civil rights icon Martin Luther King III and his sister, Bernice King, visited their father’s memorial in Washington on Friday.
“I see a guy still standing in authority and saying, ‘We still have to get this done,'” Bernice said, looking up at the granite statue.
Guest speakers include Ambassador Andrew Young, a close adviser to the King who helped organize the original parade and later served as a member of Congress, UN ambassador and mayor of Atlanta. Leaders from the NAACP and the National Urban League are also expected to speak.
Several leaders of the group organizing the march met with Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke in the Civil Rights Division on Friday to discuss a range of issues, including voting rights, Law and order and red lines.
Saturday’s gathering was a prelude to the actual anniversary of the March on Washington, August 28, 1963. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with organizers of the 1963 rally on Monday to mark the March anniversary. All of Kim’s children have been invited to meet with Biden, White House officials said.
For National Action Network founder Rev. Al Sharpton, continuing to celebrate the anniversary of the March on Washington fulfills a promise he made to the late King family matriarch Coretta Scott King. She introduced Sharpton and Martin Luther King III in the 37th anniversary parade 23 years ago and urged them to carry on the legacy.
Sharpton said of Martin Luther King III’s wife: “It never occurred to me that 23 years later, Martin and I marched with Adria and we had more[civil rights protections]than we did in 2000.” Less.” King Adria Waters.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s words in Washington resonated as he pushed for civil and human rights for decades. But there were also dark moments after his speech.
Two weeks later, in 1963, four black girls were killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, followed by the kidnapping and murder of three civil rights workers in Neshoba County, Mississippi the following year. These tragedies prompted the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Voting rights marches from Montgomery to Selma, Alabama, where marchers were brutally beaten as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, dubbed “Bloody Sunday,” forcing Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965 .
“Unfortunately, we’re living in an age where younger generations don’t think my father’s generation, and those of us who came after us, have done enough,” said Bernice King. The way.”
She added: “We can’t give up because someday change will come. We have to celebrate small victories. If you’re not grateful, you’re also sabotaging your progress.”
Saturday’s gathering gave 31-year-old Denofer Garrett hope.
He walked around the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, holding a cross with the names of victims of police brutality and gun violence written on it. “I’ve lost a lot of friends to gun violence and God made me take up this cross and turn my pain into something,” Garrett said. , hearing people come together for the advancement of our people and communities, it gives me motivation to keep going and I’m glad I’m here.”
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Associated Press reporters Ayanna Alexander, Gary Fields, Jacquelyn Martin and Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.
