Atlanta City Councilmember Kwanza Hall presented a proclamation to Bernice King, CEO of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, and Judy Forte, Superintendent of the National Park Service, on Monday in honor of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
“As the Council representative for the King Historic District, it is a great honor to commemorate the anniversary of this watershed moment in the civil rights movement,” said Hall. In her public remarks accepting the proclamation on behalf of The King Center, King noted that Hall’s father, Leon Hall, was her father’s youngest staff member when Martin Luther King, Jr. was the executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) on Auburn Avenue.
On August 28, 1963, Atlanta native Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The March on Washington set the stage for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Fifty years later, citizens from across the country will converge on our nation’s capital on August 28 to commemorate and celebrate this historic event. The march will culminate with a speech by President Barack Obama, who will also speak from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
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