60th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Historic Speech

Thousands of people marched in the United States capital this Saturday against racism to mark the 60th anniversary of the historic March on Washington, in which Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his acclaimed “I have a dream” speech.

Six decades later, the civil rights movement remains strong despite successive instances of police brutality against African Americans and efforts by conservatives to erode black electoral participation.

The demonstration began with a series of parliaments of activists and politicians on the steps of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial, the same place where Luther King delivered his words on August 28, 1963, before passing through part of the US capital.

The concentration was led by Luther King’s family. His eldest son, Martin Luther King III, confessed to the crowd that he was “deeply concerned” that the United States is “going backwards instead of forward.”

“We must defend the right to vote for everyone. We must ensure that our women and children are treated equally. We must end gun violence. Only then will we be able to say one day that we are a great nation,” he claimed.

This Saturday’s protest was called by the civil rights organization National Action Network (NAN) not to “commemorate” the 60th anniversary of the famous march, but to “continue searching for the dream” of Luther King.

The protesters criticized maneuvers in several red states to weaken minority votes, making it difficult, for example, to vote by mail or adjusting the electoral map so that black-majority districts had less weight.

They also lashed out at white supremacist attacks and police brutality against African Americans three years after the killing of George Flouyd by white police officers, an event that sparked the largest racial protests in decades.

There were also calls to eradicate poverty, which particularly affects the African American population, as well as demands in favor of migrants and the LGTBI collective.

The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, led by Luther King (1929-1968), is considered one of the most important demonstrations in American history and a milestone in the fight for racial justice.

The protest, attended by 250,000 people, helped Congress pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned racial segregation, as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which removed obstacles to voting for African Americans.

At the age of 17, Sharon Smith along with other classmates from the institute took part in that demonstration and today, 76 years old, she did not want to miss the 60th anniversary.

“That day was incredible, there were a lot of people. Everyone was there for a reason: we wanted to see a change in America. There have been some changes, but not everything we need,” this African-American woman, who lives in Kentucky, explained to EFE.

Wearing a Luther King T-shirt, Smith claimed that “there’s still a lot of work to be done” and called for “police officer training and retraining”.

Similarly, he warned of the risks posed by democracy, such as the one he believes represents former President Donald Trump trying to “roll back” the election he lost in 2020.

Hamitlon Brooks, a 24-year-old African-American man from Virginia, also opined that “the threat to democracy is very real” as several states “pass racist laws against black people with the intent to prevent them from voting.”

“Even though the United States is a democracy, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. Many people are being silenced,” Brooks, a member of the Generation Vote youth organization, told EFE.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the first African-American woman in office, will meet with Luther King’s family on Monday to commemorate the anniversary of the “I have a dream.”

“I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a country where they are not judged by their skin color but by their character,” the Reverend said that day, words that continue to stir conscience in the United States and the rest of the world.world.

Luther King, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, was assassinated on April 14, 1968 in Memphis by a white supremacist. (JO)

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