US celebrates anniversary of Martin Luther King march
Thousands of people have attended a rally in Washington to mark 50 years since Martin Luther King\’s famous "I have a dream" speech on civil rights.
In 1963 African-Americans were struggling to overcome racial discrimination that restricted voting by blacks in parts of the United States, blocked their access to good jobs, and left many mired in poverty.
King\’s speech highlighted a march by 250,000 people, which showed the growing political clout of the non-violent movement that eventually won new laws protecting civil rights for blacks and others.
Fifty years later, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told a new march that civil-rights pioneers made it possible for him to be the first African American to head the Justice Department. He also said much work remains to be done to protect voting rights for blacks and fully extend civil rights to other groups like Hispanics and gays.
Wednesday is the actual anniversary of the speech (August 28). It will be marked by speeches from U.S. President Barack Obama, the country\’s first African-American president, as well as former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
The civil-rights movement attracted attention in the mid-1950s when King, a young black preacher, led a successful effort to desegregate public buses in Montgomery, Alabama.
King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Source: Agencies
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