This year marks 30 years of Dr. Martin Luther King junior’s birthday being marked as a federal holiday. The city’s annual march attracted hundreds of thousands of people breaking its own records this year.
“We shall overcome” was heard throughout the eastside Monday as 300,000 people, according to the MLK Commission marched down MLK Blvd. in remembrance of Dr. King.
San Antonio’s Mayor Ivy Taylor, the first African American to hold the seat says on this day she reflects on the progress made over the last several decades “Also I think about the work that’s ahead, things that we still need to do improve and reform criminal justice and connect more San Antonians to economic prosperity,” she said.
U.S. Senator John Cornyn, who was among those leading the march with the Mayor says Dr. King is an inspirational figure who changed race relations. “Sort of the original sin of America is treating African Americans as less than fully human and it’s amazing to see the transformation we’ve had in these years but he was the main reason why that happened,” he said.
The 2.5 mile march attracted people of all colors and faiths. A group of Sikh men played drums near St. Philip’s college encouraging others to dance with them. AK Singh says Dr. King’s dream means unity and connectivity. “It’s a unity among the diversity which is a huge legacy which we have learned. Any soul who has departed the earth in this manner in uniting people we truly respect,” he said.
The San Antonio MLK march is often billed as one of the largest in the United States.
