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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMLK March (2)Residents honor King with march By GREG OKUHARA Eagle Staff Writer The steady rain Monday did little to dampen the spirits of those walking in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Freedom March, with more than 400 people turn- ing out to remember the slain civil rights leader. Partici- ^ Opinions /A6 pants and. specta- tors said they showed up to honor King's legacy and do their part to continue his work toward equality for all people. The dreary weather wasn't a deterrent. "It's very important [to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day] because we lost someone who, if it wasn't for him, helped us do something like this," said Bryan resident Rober- ta Seymore as she walked along the street named after King. "I stayed up late last night thinking, `Where would we be if it wasn't for Dr. King?"' Seymore, 46, pointed toward the crowd in front of her and marveled at the diversity and enthusiasm of the Freedom March par- ticipants, who included the Hearne High School March- ing Band. Even as the rain's intensity increased, sounds of chatting and laughing emerged from beneath umbrellas and raincoats. A van from 103.1 FM KVJM rolled alongside the crowd playing traditional hymns as the marchers sang along. "Because of him, we're able to do things we could- n't do in the past," Seymore said. the city has a particular obli- gation to preserve King's "legacy of fighting for social and economic justice, a legacy of marching with the poor and the neglected, a legacy of demanding peace against senseless war." As the mayor spoke, volun- teers served 12,000 meals to the needy at the city's major- league baseball field. The poor and homeless also could get medical checkups, haircuts and clothing, as well as legal help and counseling. In Washington, President Bush went to see Abraham's Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which is on dis- play for just four days at the National Archives. The aging document is brought out only occasionally because it is sen- sitive to light. In other states: ^ Hurricane Katrina debris along New Orleans' Martin Luther King Boulevard had been cleaned up in advance of a parade Monday, but many nearby buildings remained abandoned and in ruins. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin called on black people to rebuild the city, which was more than 60 percent black before Katrina displaced about three-quarters of its population. "This city will be a majority African-American city," Nagin told a crowd at City Hall. "It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans." ^ Several thousand people attended a rally at Columbia, S.C. Improved funding for schools and removing the Con- federate flag from Statehouse grounds dominated the speech- es. "We're not going to rest until that rag comes down," said the Rev. Nelson Rivers III, chief operating o$"icer of the NAACP in Baltimore. ^ In San Antonio, Air Force jets flew over the city's Martin Luther King Day celebration, sparking a protest by Iraq war opponents who said the mili- tary presence conflicted with King's teachings. About two dozen protesters chanted "shame" while two 'Air Force training jets flew overhead. Members of the group, who were rr white, also sang protest that drowned out spec from the podium lauding and his legacy.