Dignitaries at the front of the Freedom Walk include, left to right, Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP; Martin Luther King, III; Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network, Roslyn Brock, chairman of the NAACP; Detroit Mayor Dave Bing; and Rev. Jesse Jackson of the Rainbow Push Coalition Saturday, June 22, 2013 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Detroit News, John T. Greilick)
DETROIT (AP) — Thousands participated in a Detroit march commemorating the 50th anniversary of one that Martin Luther King Jr. led in 1963.
The walk down Woodward Avenue on Saturday morning culminated in a riverfront rally at Hart Plaza.
The civil rights icon visited Detroit on June 23, 1963, to lead tens of thousands in a freedom walk and also previewed his “I Have a Dream” speech.
Freedom Walk 2013 Grand Marshal Tony Brown, who was coordinator of the 1963 Freedom Walk, welcomes the multitude to a rally in Hart Plaza after their march down Woodward Avenue to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic march 50 years ago, Saturday, June 22, 2013 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Detroit News, John T. Greilick)
Martin Luther King III, Tony Brown, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton participated in Saturday’s march and rally.
Detroit NAACP President Wendell Anthony said the march “signifies that the work for freedom and justice must continue” in Detroit and worldwide.
Sharpton says it’s important to keep fighting for justice and marchers weren’t merely taking “a nostalgia trip down Woodward.”
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