On August 28, 1963, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, changed history for all Americans. The most rememberable was the iconic “I have a dream” speech by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Now 50 years later, here in Los Angeles, Calif., public officials and labor rights activists, remember the past and look toward the future with three distinct events on Wednesday August 28, 2013.
Watch now for more information on how one speech is remembered so that residents can move on and create better jobs and more opportunities for freedom in America.
MLK Peace and Unity Celebration
Residents waited in anticipation of the Kingdom Parade on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. Lupe Meraz, a resident of the City of Long Beach, Calif. said, “Except for what they show on TV, we’ve never been in person, so I’m excited.” According to the Long Beach Official site, this kingdom parade marks the twenty-fourth annual parade. It began on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and concluded at King Park.
As the parade concluded, a celebration with vendors, food and rides followed, in honor of Dr. King’s life and dedication. One of the featured areas was Dreamland. An area that was dedicated to teaching the youth about Dr. King and his legacy. Lara Turnbull, the project director of Healthy Active Long Beach says, “We’re gonna have a better outcome when we realize that we all need to count on each other, do for each other, take care of each other, be more sustainable in our eating, be more sustainable with the planet and treat each other kindly.”
Additionally, Su Luck Chaturabul, a pharmacy student at the Western University of Health sciences, said, “Right now there’s a lot of tough times, just the crazy economic times, and I think just having people, the community, come together, especially local areas, come together and just promote being happy and trying to get rid of all the negativity out there, that’s what I think of peace and unity.
The parade also had several classic cars, including the “9-11 Angel Cruiser Series”, a group that consists of racecars created specifically as a 9-11 tribute. Fueled By The Fallen creator, Kevyn Major Howard said, “About seven years back, watching our news hours we would always see one of our heroes who was killed in the line of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan, and I woke up one morning trying to recall the name of the hero who died for my freedom and I couldn’t do it and I was paying attention and I felt perhaps America was feeling a little complacent about it’s honor and respect back to the heroes and I felt with imagination that the best way to get everyone’s attention was to use the platform of the cars because everyone, 2-year-olds to 92 year olds love an automobile.”
Additionally the celebration included live music, food and carnival rides for the kids. The parade and celebration was from 10:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.