In 1963, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. helped lead the civil rights March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Thousands walked through The Mall to the Lincoln Memorial where he would deliver one of the most important speeches ever made in American History using the famous words “I have a dream…”
Fifty years later thousands returned to march again and continue Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. Organized by Reverend Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, King’s oldest son, the “National Action to Realize the Dream” march and rally on Saturday (Aug. 24) were fueled by the recent prejudices in the 2012 shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.
“This is not the time for nostalgic commemoration,” said Martin Luther King III. “Nor is this the time for self-congratulatory celebration. The task is not done. The journey is not complete. We can and we must do more.”
“We believe in a new America. It’s time to march for a new America,” Sharpton told the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial. “In the 50s it was Emmett Till, today it’s Trayvon Martin,” he said and then brought both families of the helpless victims to the podium.
Today’s speech and rally kicks off the events leading up to the actual 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech on Wednesday. Check out photos from the kick-off march in the gallery that follows.
