Members of the Four Tops perform the National Anthem at the start of Saturday's hart Plaza rally, as they did 50 years ago after the first Walk for Freedom. [Photo by Marlon A. Walker]
Marchers of diverse ages walked two miles down Woodward to Hart Plaza with signs, banners and commemorative shirts Saturday morning, a day shy of 50 years since Martin Luther King Jr. led a Walk to Freedom on that route.
Wendell Anthony (left) and Dick Gregory speak to reporters. [Photo by Marlon A. Walker]
Hart Plaza then was filled through mid-afternoon as dignitaries spoke about a half-century of gains and goals in the areas of civil rights, economic equality, education, worker rights and other issues.
Speakers include Martin Luther King III, son of the Nobel Peace Prize winner, as well as Rep. John Conyersm Mayor Dave Bing, Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, Al Sharpton, UAW President John King, NAACP branch president Wendell Anthony and NAACP national president Ben Jealous.
Ceremonies began with a performance of the National Anthem by the Four Tops, who also sang that at the Cobo rally on June 23, 1963.
The crowd later was invited to pray for Nelson Mandela's health.
The thousands of other marchers on a partly sunny 77-degree morning include some who walked as youngsters or young adults in 1963, as well as those who read and heard about the historic day when King rehearsed (not for the first time) his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech delivered nine weeks later in Washington, D.C. (The first video at the end of this roundup has Detroit speech excerpts.)
Here are comments from social media Saturday, followed by Instagram images posted today.
Rep. John Conyers: "This is a movement that will never stop until jobs, justice and peace are accomplished."
This was the Spirit of Detroit in all senses Saturday.
Gionni Crawford, Detroit: "Downtown Detroit is packed with passionate activists and leaders!"
Shawntay Dalon, Detroit: "Can't explain how great I feel right now!"
Cardinal Mbiyu Chuk, Shrine of the Black Madonna: "We are here because we believe in who we are and what we can become."
JoAnn Watson, Detroit Council: "As we march as we rally let's hear from women who helped take us to the mountaintop."
Rev. Wendell Anthony, Detroit NAACP president: "We gained a great deal, but we still have many bridges to cross. . . . We’re doing this to remind everyone that there is still work to be done."
Karla Swift, Michigan AFL-CIO president: "This is an opportunity for families and working people to come together, take stock and recommit themselves to civil rights and economic justice. The dream is within view, but Detroit and the nation still have a long walk ahead."
Jimmy Settles, UAW international vice-president: "In spite of severe racial tensions within its membership, UAW leaders mobilized locals and encouraged them to support the [1963] event."
Frederick Toney, Ford vice president: "The victory comes in working together."
Rev. Nicholas Hood III, Detroit: "I was there [at age 12 in 1963] because my father said, 'This is what we’re doing. "
Photographer C.S. Ross, Jr. shares this march scene via Instagram.
Ken Coleman, Detroit author: "50th Anniversary Freedom Walk has been awesome! Proud to have been a part of it. "
-- Alan Stamm
Woodward Avenue procession approaches Larned in this Instagram photo by Nayyirah Shariff of Flint.
United Auto Workers members marched with an eye-catching display, as Edward Dozier, Jr. shows at Instagram.
A fast food workers' movement advocates an increase in the $7.40 per hour minimum wage. [Photo by Nayyirah Shariff]
