The Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network (NAN), and Martin Luther King III, eldest son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., are mobilizing the 50th Anniversary March on Washington National Action to Realize the Dream Rally and March.
On Saturday, August 24, a rally will be held at the Lincoln Memorial (where Dr. King gave his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963), followed by a march to the King Memorial. Across the country, busloads of people will travel to Washington, D.C. for the occasion. Two buses from St. Louis are being organized by Leslie Broadnax and Nikia Gist. They plan to take 100 people.
Broadnax believes that another March on Washington is still relevant, citing the transfer of students from unaccredited Normandy and Riverview Gardens school districts to neighboring districts in St. Louis and St. Charles counties, and the striking down of Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Race is still a problem in the United States of America,” Broadnax said, “and if anyone tells you anything different then they’re lying.”
Rev. Sharpton said via Twitter that “this march is not a commemoration, but a continuation and a call 2 action.”
As stated on the NAN website, the rally and march will raise awareness about unemployment, poverty, gun violence, immigration, LGBT rights and other critical issues affecting our nation. It is also a call to action against racial profiling and the “Stand Your Ground” law.
Rev. Sharpton and King will be joined by the families of Emmett Till and Trayvon Martin.
Broadnax and Gist aren’t strangers to organizing events of this magnitude. After George Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges in the death of Trayvon Martin, they coordinated a local rally on Saturday, July 20 on the steps of the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Federal Courthouse. St. Louis was one of 100 cities nationwide that rallied (again, under the direction of Rev. Sharpton) for the cause of bringing federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman.
Gist said Trayvon’s death hits close to home.
She also said the “senseless crime” against someone she considered like “a nephew,” Leon Watkins Jr., 19, inspired her to address the issue of black-on-black crime. Watkins was home from college when he was shot on July 4; he now suffers from traumatic brain injuries.
According to Broadnax and Gist, the buses will depart from the Buzz Westfall Shopping Center at 8021 W. Florissant at the corner of Lucas and Hunt and W. Florissant at 6 a.m. on Friday, August 23. The buses will arrive in Washington, D.C. approximately 12 hours later.
The buses will depart D.C. at 8 p.m. on August 24, returning to St. Louis the following morning. The cost for the trip ($195 per person for double/$175 per person for quad occupancy rooms) includes transportation and hotel accommodations at the Crowne Plaza.
“I don’t believe that anything is happenstance,” Broadnax said. “We’re out there now, so all we can do is keep going with it.”
For information contact Leslie Broadnax at 314-546-9573, Nikia Gist 314-412-1027 or visit the National Action Network at nationalactionnetwork.net.
