美國民衆遊行紀念馬丁•路德•金演說50週年

Tens of thousands of people marched to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and down the National Mall on Saturday, commemorating the 50th anniversary of King's famous speech and pledging that his dream includes equality for gays, Latinos, the poor and the disabled.

The event was an homage to a generation of activists that endured fire hoses, police abuse and indignities to demand equality for African Americans. But there was a strong theme of unfinished business.

"This is not the time for nostalgic commemoration," said Martin Luther King III, the oldest son of the slain civil rights leader. "Nor is this the time for self-congratulatory celebration. The task is not done. The journey is not complete. We can and we must do more."

Eric Holder, the nation's first black attorney general, said he would not be in office, nor would Barack Obama be president, without those who marched.

"They marched in spite of animosity, oppression and brutality because they believed in the greatness of what this nation could become and despaired of the founding promises not kept," Holder said.

Holder mentioned gays and Latinos, women and the disabled as those who had yet to fully realize the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream. Others in the crowd advocated organized labor, voting rights, revamping immigration policies and access to local post offices.

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the only surviving speaker from the 1963 March on Washington, railed against a recent Supreme Court decision that effectively erased a key anti-discrimination provision of the Voting Rights Act. Lewis was a leader of a 1965 march, where police beat and gassed marchers who demanded access to voting booths.

"I gave a little blood on that bridge in Selma, Ala., for the right to vote," he said. "I am not going to stand by and let the Supreme Court take the right to vote away from us. You cannot stand by. You cannot sit down. You've got to stand up. Speak up, speak out and get in the way."

Organizers expected about 100,000 people to participate in the event, the precursor to the actual anniversary of the Aug. 28, 1963, march that drew some 250,000 to the National Mall and ushered in the idea of massive, nonviolent demonstrations.

Marchers began arriving early Saturday, many staking out their spots as the sun rose in a clear sky over the Capitol. By midday, tens of thousands had gathered on the National Mall.

Lynda Chambers, 58, gave up a day's pay to attend because her retail job does not provide paid vacation. Even as a 7-year-old at the time of the original march, she felt alienated and deprived of her rights. Remembering those feelings, she said, she was compelled to make the trip Saturday.

"I wanted to have some sort of connection to what I have always known, as far as being a black person," she said.

Longtime activist Al Sharpton, now a MSNBC host, implored young black men to respect women and reminded them that two of the leading figures in the civil rights movement of the 1960s were women.

"Rosa Parks wasn't no ho," he said. "And Fannie Lou Hamer wasn't no bitch."

Speakers frequently mentioned persistent high unemployment among blacks, which is about twice that of white Americans, and the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida. Along the Mall, Martin's picture was nearly as ubiquitous as King's.

Nancy Norman, of Seattle, said she was disappointed more people who look like her had not attended. She is white. But the 58-year-old she said she was glad to hear climate change discussed alongside voting rights.

"I'm the kind of person who thinks all of those things are interconnected. Climate change is at the top of my list," said Norman. "I don't think it's one we can set aside for any other discussion."

Those in attendance arrived in a post-9/11 Washington that was very different from the one civil rights leaders visited in 1963.

Then, people crowded the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and could get close to King to hear his "I Have a Dream" speech. Saturday's speakers also were on the memorial's steps, but metal barriers kept people away from the reflecting pool and only a small group of attendees was allowed near the memorial Saturday.

There was a media area and VIP seating. Everyone else had been pushed back and watched and listened to the speeches on big-screen televisions. Police were stationed atop the Lincoln Memorial. After the speeches, marchers walked from there, past the King Memorial, then down the National Mall to the Washington Monument, a distance of just over a mile.

On the day of the anniversary, President Barack Obama will speak from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He will be joined by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Churches and groups have been asked to ring bells at 3 p.m. Wednesday, marking the exact time King spoke.

Joseph Lowery, who founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference along with King, urged the crowd to continue working for King's ideals.

"We've come to Washington to commemorate," the 92-year-old civil rights leader said, "and we're going home to agitate."8月24日，大約10萬美國民衆從馬丁•路德•金紀念碑遊行至華盛頓國家廣場，紀念馬丁•路德•金髮表《我有一個夢想》著名演說50週年，並誓言繼承金的夢想，爭取同性戀者、拉美裔、窮人和殘疾人的平等權利。

馬丁•路德•金的長子馬丁•路德•金三世說：“現在不是懷舊的時候，也不是慶祝的時候。任務尚未完成，旅程還未結束。我們能夠——並且必須——做得更多。”

美國首位黑人司法部長埃裏克•霍爾德表示，如果沒有當年那些人遊行，他和奧巴馬總統就不會有今天的職位。霍爾德說：“他們不顧仇恨、壓迫和暴行而遊行，因爲他們堅信這個國家將成爲偉大的國家，他們對這個國家沒能實現建國時的諾言而感到失望。”

霍爾德提到了同性戀者和拉丁裔美國人，婦女和殘疾人，稱馬丁•路德•金的夢想在他們身上尚未完全實現。此外，參與遊行的人還提出了其他訴求，涉及工作權利、選舉權、改革移民政策和當地郵局的使用。

衆議員約翰•劉易斯是1963年“向華盛頓進軍”遊行中唯一健在的演講人。美國最高法院廢除了《選舉權法案》中的核心反歧視條款，劉易斯對此表示反對。劉易斯是1965年遊行的領導人之一。當時遊行者要求參與投票，遭到警察殘酷打壓。“在阿拉巴馬州塞爾瑪的橋上，我爲爭取選舉權流了點血。”他說，“我不會袖手旁觀，不會讓最高法院剝奪我們的選舉權。你不能坐視不理，你不能甘心忍受。你得站起來，大聲說出來，阻止他們。”

1963年8月28日的演講吸引了25萬人來到華盛頓國家廣場，併發起大規模、非暴力遊行。本次遊行組織者預計有10萬人參加演說紀念活動。

58歲的琳達•錢伯斯從事零售工作。她沒有上班，而是過來參加集會，爲此不惜損失一天的工資。錢伯斯表示必須參加24日的遊行。

全國廣播公司主持人阿爾•夏普頓長期支持民權運動，他懇請黑人男性尊重婦女，並提醒他們1960年代的民權運動中有兩名領袖人物是女性。

當天的演說者頻繁提起黑人的持續高失業，美國黑人的失業率大概是白人的兩倍。另外，喬治•齊默爾曼槍殺黑人青年特雷翁•馬丁被無罪開釋也是當天的熱門話題。當天在國家廣場，馬丁的圖像幾乎和馬丁•路德•金像一樣多。

來自美國西雅圖的白人南希•諾爾曼表示，她對沒有更多像她一樣的人來參加表示失望。但 58歲的她說，她很高興能夠同事討論氣候變化和選舉權。她說：“我認爲所有的事情都是聯繫着的。我最關心氣候變化，但我不認爲可以拋開其他問題只談論這個問題。”

在8月28日週年紀念日當天，美國總統奧巴馬將在林肯紀念堂前發表演講，前總統比爾•克林頓和吉米•卡特也將參加。教堂和各團體將在8月28日馬丁•路德•金演當年下午3點發表演講，紀念活動中，教堂和各團體將於下午3點鳴鐘致敬。

約瑟夫•洛韋裏曾與馬丁•路德•金一起創建南方基督教領袖會議。如今，這位92歲高齡的民權運動領袖囑咐遊行的人繼續爲金的事業而奮鬥。