By Kevin Aldridge
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The son of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said Thursday that the freedom, justice and equality his father lived and died for have not yet been achieved.
At a rally in Eden Park commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, King told a crowd of about 500 that racism is alive and well. The president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference said many of the freedoms his father talked about 40 years ago still don't exist.
"America is much better than the behavior she exhibits," King said to cheers and applause from the audience at Seasongood Pavilion. "We still have a river to cross."
King was one of a dozen speakers that included singer Harry Belafonte, former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and the Rev. Walter Fauntroy of the National Black Leadership Roundtable.
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THE SPEECH ONLINE
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• See and hear Dr. King deliver his "I Have A Dream"
speech. The Associated Press offers black & white video of
the 16-minute speech. After the intro, click on the
"VIDEO" link. Explore the other links to learn more
about the 1963 March on Washington.
• Audio only of the speech at historychannel.com.
• Audio excerpts of the speech at webcorp.com.
• The text of the speech at mecca.org
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King again pledged his group's support to the two-year-old boycott of downtown Cincinnati and urged black leaders of the movement to stay focused.
"We are going to support this cause as long as you deem it necessary," King said. The boycott "is short term pain for long term gain - for dignity and respect."
Belafonte said African-Americans today are "sitting in a burning house" and that they "must become firemen." He called the city's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood "the key to opening up the door" to racial freedom and justice.
"Forty years later, I am asked by many people, 'How do you think it has gone?'" Belafonte said. "I make just one simple response. I say just go take one look at Over-the-Rhine in Cincinnati and tell me what you think Dr. King's dream has become."
Fauntroy said Thursday's rally kicked off a national campaign to mobilize, educate and register millions of voters by Jan. 15, to have an impact on the 2004 elections.
About two hours into the rally, Amanda Mayes, co-chair of the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati, tried to storm the stage. She was arrested.
Nate Livingston, coalition co-chair, was also arrested at the event. He was charged with violating a court-issued protection order obtained by Victoria Straughn and Juleana Frierson, of the Cincinnati Boycott Council.
E-mail kaldridge@enquirer.com
