Demonstrators rally in San Francisco to honor legacy of Martin Luther King

Source: Xinhua| 2019-01-22 07:51:38|Editor: Shi Yinglun
Video PlayerClose

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of people rallied Monday in downtown San Francisco to honor Martin Luther King (MLK) Day and the legacy of the U.S. civil rights icon who had fought for racial equal rights and justice in the 1960s.

The demonstrators, who began the rally at the Caltrain station at Fourth and King streets in downtown city, marched through city streets hand in hand, singing "We Shall Overcome," a gospel song that became a protest song and a key anthem of the Civil Rights Movement decades ago.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed walked in front of the march as the demonstrators chanted "We are walking hand in hand" while they marched across the Lefty O'Doul Bridge to commemorate Bloody Sunday, the March 7, 1965 protest when civil rights protesters were beaten up by police in the U.S. southeastern state of Alabama.

Breed urged the whole society to address civil rights issues that remained unresolved today and criticized the federal government for shutting partial agencies over a border wall dispute between U.S. President Donald Trump and the Democrats.

"When the government closes its doors over a wall meant to divide us, we still have work to do," she said.

Breed tweeted earlier in the day that "Martin Luther King Jr. Day is not a day of rest; it is a time to recommit."

"It's a reminder that the arc of the moral universe does not bend on its own-it is pushed by the many hands of those who believe in a Dream," she said in the tweeted post.

"His dedication to the nonviolent struggle for equality in this country has served as an inspiration for future generations who continue the fight for equality and justice for all," she said.

She added that while great progress has been made in the society, "we have a long way to go until we live in a nation where we will not be judged by the color of our skin, who we love, or the god we worship, but by the content of our character."

The demonstration is part of a series of celebrations of Martin Luther King across the Bay Area, with several other similar rallies staged in Bay Area cities of San Jose, Oakland and Berkeley.

MLK Day, which falls on the third Monday of January, was established as a federal holiday in 1983, and also was designated by Congress as a National Day of Service in 1994.

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET