Sixty years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. addressed a crowd of 20,000 people on Boston Common, speaking on racial injustice in housing and education.
“I come to Boston not to condemn but to encourage. Not to break down the institutions and structures of the social order, but to call them back to the vibrant spirit of freedom and liberty from which they emerged,” King told the crowd.
This weekend, an anniversary rally will take place in the same spot, only this time it will be Martin Luther King III in attendance.
It’s a reminder that the 1965 protest was not that long ago, said Everyone250 co-chair Jeneé Osterheldt, who is co-organizing the march with Embrace Boston and city leaders.
Many of the issues at the heart of the event — affordable housing, education funding and racial equity — were also key issues 60 years ago.
“It’s something that’s continuing. It’s not something we’re returning to. This is a continued fight for liberation. The train still continues and we bring new conductors on,” Osterheldt told Boston Public Radio on Wednesday.
Embrace Boston CEO Imari Paris Jeffries said that April is an important month in Civil Rights history. In addition to the Freedom Rally, April is the month of MLK Jr.’s assassination and is also Coretta Scott King’s birthday. And this year, Boston is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution.
“We think this is an anniversary worth celebrating as well. And so we’re so excited to be celebrating it in the spirit of the 250th,” Jeffries said.
This weekend’s rally will be a “demonstration of democracy” and “should be a joyful march,” Jeffries said.
The march will begin at 10 a.m. and travel from Copley Square to the corner of Boylston and Charles streets. A 12 p.m. rally on Boston Common will follow.
