– By SUZANNE GAMBOA

The Associated Press

Tens of thousands of people marched to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and down the National Mall on Saturday, commemorating the 50th anniversary of King’s famous speech and pledging that his dream includes equality for gays, Latinos, the poor and the disabled.

The event was an homage to a generation of activists that endured fire hoses, police abuse and indignities to demand equality for blacks. But there was a strong theme of unfinished business.

“This is not the time for nostalgic commemoration,” said Martin Luther King III, the oldest son of the slain civil rights leader. “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.”

Eric Holder, the nation’s first black attorney general, said he would not be in office, nor would Barack Obama be president, without those who marched.

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“They marched in spite of animosity, oppression and brutality because they believed in the greatness of what this nation could become, and despaired of the founding promises not kept,” Holder said. Holder mentioned gays and Latinos, women and the disabled as those who had yet to fully realize the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream. Others in the crowd advocated organized labor, voting rights, revamping immigration policies and access to local post offices.

‘I GAVE A LITTLE BLOOD ON THAT BRIDGE’

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the only surviving speaker from the 1963 March on Washington, railed against a recent Supreme Court decision that effectively erased a key anti-discrimination provision of the Voting Rights Act. Lewis was a leader of a 1965 march, where police beat and gassed marchers who demanded access to voting booths.

“I gave a little blood on that bridge in Selma, Ala., for the right to vote,” he said. “I am not going to stand by and let the Supreme Court take the right to vote away from us. You cannot stand by. You cannot sit down. You’ve got to stand up. Speak up, speak out and get in the way.”

Organizers expected about 100,000 people to participate in the event, the precursor to the actual anniversary of the Aug. 28, 1963, march that drew some 250,000 to the National Mall and ushered in the idea of massive, nonviolent demonstrations.

Marchers began arriving early Saturday, many staking out their spots as the sun rose in a clear sky over the Capitol. By midday, tens of thousands had gathered on the National Mall.

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Lynda Chambers, 58, gave up a day’s pay to attend because her retail job does not provide paid vacation. Even as a 7-year-old at the time of the original march, she felt alienated and deprived of her rights. Remembering those feelings, she said, she was compelled to make the trip Saturday.

“I wanted to have some sort of connection to what I have always known, as far as being a black person,” she said.

Longtime activist Al Sharpton, now an MSNBC host, implored young black men to respect women and reminded them that two of the leading figures in the civil rights movement of the 1960s were women. “Rosa Parks wasn’t no ho,” he said. “And Fannie Lou Hamer wasn’t no bitch.”

Speakers frequently mentioned persistent high unemployment among blacks, which is about twice that of white Americans, and the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida. Along the Mall, Martin’s picture was nearly as ubiquitous as King’s.

Nancy Norman, of Seattle, said she was disappointed more people who look like her had not attended. She is white. But the 58-year-old said she was glad to hear climate change discussed alongside voting rights.

“I’m the kind of person who thinks all of those things are interconnected. Climate change is at the top of my list,” Norman said.

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Those in attendance arrived in a post-9/11 Washington that was very different from the one civil rights leaders visited in 1963.

SPECTATORS KEPT AT A DISTANCE

Then, people crowded the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and could get close to King to hear his “I Have a Dream” speech. Saturday’s speakers were also on the memorial’s steps, but metal barriers kept people away from the reflecting pool and only a small group of attendees was allowed near the memorial Saturday.

There was a media area and VIP seating. Everyone else had been pushed back and watched and listened to the speeches on big-screen televisions. Police were stationed atop the Lincoln Memorial. After the speeches, marchers walked from there, past the King Memorial, then down the National Mall to the Washington Monument, a distance of just over a mile.

On the day of the anniversary, President Barack Obama will speak from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He will be joined by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Churches and groups have been asked to ring bells at 3 p.m. Wednesday, marking the exact time King spoke.

Joseph Lowery, who founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference along with King, urged the crowd to continue working for King’s ideals.

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“We’ve come to Washington to commemorate,” the 92-year-old civil rights leader said, “and we’re going home to agitate.”CAUSES FOR A NEW CENTURY: ECONOMIC PARITY, HEALTH CARE ACCESS, AND MORE Following the lead of their predecessors, organizers of 50th anniversary activities for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Friday issued what they called a 21st-century agenda for the nation: economic parity, equity in education, voting rights, health care access and criminal justice reform.

Those are the goals of the marches and rallies planned over the coming days, National Urban League President Marc Morial said. The agenda recalls the 10 demands issued by civil rights leaders when they marched on the National Mall on Aug. 28, 1963. Among those demands a half-century ago were a living wage and civil rights legislation.

“This agenda is by no means a complete agenda,” Morial said. “It presents itself as a stake in the ground, as a foundation, as a statement of both principle and policy specifics.”

About 100 leaders of national organizations came up with the priorities after they were convened by Morial and the Rev. Al Sharpton, head of the National Action Network; Ben Jealous, president of the NAACP; and Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, according to Morial.

Morial said the agenda is meant to strengthen unity among leaders who often are seen as disparate and to show that Saturday’s march and a rally on Wednesday are meant not just for commemorative purposes. “It is time for us to embrace the idea … that we must go forth from this march with the commitment to a continuation around an agenda,” he said.

— The Associated Press


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