Detroit March Next Saturday To Mark MLK Anniversary
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - Martin Luther King Jr.'s son is among those expected to take part in an event later this month that will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 march led by the civil rights icon in Detroit.
King visited Detroit on June 23, 1963, to lead tens of thousands in a freedom walk and also previewed his "I Have a Dream" speech. Organizers said Monday that Martin Luther King III as well as the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are among those expected to attend the June 22 march.
Walkers will organize at 7 a.m. at Forest and Woodward Avenue and proceed at 9 a.m. down Woodward to a rally at Hart Plaza.
Rudy Simons, who participated in the original march as a young man, now gets around with the help of a cane. But, he told WWJ City Beat Reporter Vickie Thomas, he plans to be there.
"I feel very fortunate to be able to do it," Simons said. "It's both a celebration, I think, and perhaps even a reminder of what yet has to be done."
"If you remember, Dr. King spoke of militarism and materialism and racism 50-some years ago, and that has not gone away. So, there is work to be done," he said.
Detroit NAACP President Wendell Anthony says "all people, all races," are invited to take part.
MORE VIDEO INTERVIEWS:
Freedom Walk: Rev. Sandra Kay Gordon
Freedom Walk: Inkster Mayor Hilliard Hampton
MORE: Sharpton, Rev. Jackson, Ben Jealous To Attend Freedom Walk In Detroit\
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