In Washington D.C., we joined Martin Luther King Jr.’s family for their annual Peace Walk. The demands were directly to Congress, specifically Senators Manchin of WV and Sinema of AZ. “Don’t celebrate, legislate,” MLK Jr.’s granddaughter, Yolanda Renee King urged. She then led the crowd in unified chants before we marched across the Frederick Douglass Bridge.
It was humbling to be part of the walk, but also frustrating. It’s 2022, and the King family is still out here fighting for what should be the bare minimum. How can so many call the U.S. a democracy when voting isn’t even guaranteed to all and D.C., home to 750,000 people, doesn't it have statehood and representation?
Pictured with the young Hunger Strikers for Democracy.
King’s Beyond Vietnam speech specifically motivates me to carry out the anti-imperialist and anti-racist work that is so critical to the movement. I re-listen to it each year and strive to carry out his legacy in my personal journey and as I organize.
