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Source: JACQUELYN MARTIN / Getty
57 years have passed since the historical March on Washington which takes place today, Friday, August 28.
However, though numerous generations and bloodlines were born since that time that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his impactful “I Have a Dream Speech,” activists and participants at the march will be advocating for the same tenants of the first march almost six decades ago: the end to police violence, systemic racism and fighting against voter suppression.
Martin Luther King III, who was just five years old as his father infused profundity into a message that stirred the nation, will return to host along with the Rev. Al Sharpton.
“Dad would be very proud that people are coming together to stand up against injustice,” King said in an interview with CNN. “But certainly very sad that we’re still attempting to get justice.”
Friday will kick off with an event titled, Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks.” Keynote speakers include Stacey Abrams, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Cory Booker and and Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, as well as featured speakers and performances.
Thousands of people are expected to ascend into Washington D.C. for the gathering held at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, extending all the way to the Washington Monument at the National Mall. The event will also take place virtually, to ensure options for those who want to practice social distancing.
The event was first publicly announced by Al Sharpton as he delivered the eulogy for George Floyd. Sharpton acknowledged that even though all of the details had not yet been hashed out, he was “moved by the spirit” to do so.
The past six months have proved to be a difficult time for Black America as the degradation against us continues at what seems like a rapid pace. From Ahmaud Arbery to Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, Oluwatoyin Salau and countless others, we have to talk about the targeted violence against marganilzed groups within the Black community, as well as police and white vigilante violence.
Let us also remember the ancestors and voices who could not be here on this momentous day, people like Bayard Rustin, a forgotten gay civil rights leader who helped organize the march, Rep. John Lewis, who died last month after decades of risking his life in this work, and the Black women who helped lift the movement to what it is today, Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer and Diane Nash to name a few.
Source: JACQUELYN MARTIN / Getty
57 years have passed since the historical March on Washington which takes place today, Friday, August 28.
However, though numerous generations and bloodlines were born since that time that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his impactful “I Have a Dream Speech,” activists and participants at the march will be advocating for the same tenants of the first march almost six decades ago: the end to police violence, systemic racism and fighting against voter suppression.
Martin Luther King III, who was just five years old as his father infused profundity into a message that stirred the nation, will return to host along with the Rev. Al Sharpton.
“Dad would be very proud that people are coming together to stand up against injustice,” King said in an interview with CNN. “But certainly very sad that we’re still attempting to get justice.”
Friday will kick off with an event titled, Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks.” Keynote speakers include Stacey Abrams, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Cory Booker and and Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, as well as featured speakers and performances.
Thousands of people are expected to ascend into Washington D.C. for the gathering held at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, extending all the way to the Washington Monument at the National Mall. The event will also take place virtually, to ensure options for those who want to practice social distancing.
The event was first publicly announced by Al Sharpton as he delivered the eulogy for George Floyd. Sharpton acknowledged that even though all of the details had not yet been hashed out, he was “moved by the spirit” to do so.
The past six months have proved to be a difficult time for Black America as the degradation against us continues at what seems like a rapid pace. From Ahmaud Arbery to Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, Oluwatoyin Salau and countless others, we have to talk about the targeted violence against marganilzed groups within the Black community, as well as police and white vigilante violence.
Let us also remember the ancestors and voices who could not be here on this momentous day, people like Bayard Rustin, a forgotten gay civil rights leader who helped organize the march, Rep. John Lewis, who died last month after decades of risking his life in this work, and the Black women who helped lift the movement to what it is today, Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer and Diane Nash to name a few.