January 16, 2012 in News

Thousands turn out for MLK march

Tom Sowa The Spokesman-Review

Picture story: MLK JR. Unity March

As they began the downtown Unity March during Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration, tears overcame the two men who’ve led the annual event for more than 20 years.

The Rev. Happy Watkins and Ivan Bush both announced that Monday’s celebration in downtown Spokane was the last they would organize and direct. From this point on, said Watkins, they’ll be mentors and guides, and they’re letting younger leaders take the reins.

Monday’s event, which started at the Spokane Convention Center and followed with a march to the heart of downtown, drew about 3,000 people, far surpassing the previous year’s crowd.

Watkins said it was clear the strong turnout was a response to the backpack bomb discovered along the planned route of last year’s march. The bomb was found before the march; police diverted the march route, and law enforcement officers later arrested Kevin Harpham, 37, of Colville, for the crime. He was sentenced to 32 years in prison for attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to injure people in a hate crime.

As he has done in previous years, Watkins, the pastor of New Hope Baptist Church, delivered an emotional recitation of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Following Watkins’ re-enactment, the 62-year-old Bush told the assembled group he and Watkins were ready to step back: “We, too, have been to the mountaintop. And we looked, and what we found was that it’s time to let go. Sometimes, it’s just time.”

Afterward, well-wishers came up to Bush and Watkins, and both men had to brush tears from their eyes.

Watkins is 69. He said his health has been failing and he lacks the energy needed for the task. “I told people two years ago that last year would be my last. But they convinced me to stay one more year,” he said.

Bush and Watkins said they’ll stay close to the event but in a supporting role.

Watkins’ riveting recitation of the “Dream” speech has been recorded and posted often online. He said Monday that he will continue reciting the speech as long as organizers and community groups want.

Seated inside the convention center and watching the marchers leave the room, Watkins said the day was an important one for all those committed to community peace and healing.

“My spirit feels elevated,” he said. “It’s thrilling to look out and see something like what Jesus saw on the mountain top, a multitude of people.”

Last year’s turnout was estimated at fewer than 1,700 people. Watkins said he felt Monday’s strong turnout is directly due to the bomb scare. “I think this year there were far more white people than black people. They were here to say, ‘We’re not going to let that turn us around.’”

Bush told the assembly, “The first day we did this, there were 49 people. And now look at us, in the thousands. We keep coming together, people are standing up and we’re not going to (celebrate) just one day. We’ll commit to equality and freedom and love, 365 days a year.”

The guest speaker was the Rev. Stephen J. Thurston, president of the National Baptist Convention of America. Thurston said he came to Spokane because he heard the community had made major strides in forging stronger ties across ethnic and racial boundaries.

Thurston’s late father was a colleague of Martin Luther King Jr., and on a few occasions he heard King give sermons in the Chicago church where his own father was pastor.

“I hadn’t grown up experiencing the racism that my parents and Dr. King did,” said Thurston. “But the lesson he gave me was that all of us have to work harder if we’re going to make permanent changes in our society. He taught me that in a powerful way.”

12 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

Shadedmuse on January 16 at 7:49 p.m.
Now that the tea-bagger’s led by Cathy mcmo-Mo’s boy is running the Freak show at city hall, all I can say is welcome to the Police state of Spokanistan, noticed the cops in the news video all were carry big Night sticks? because they can stick them in your you know where if you step out of line.
Ed Byrnes on January 16 at 8:15 p.m.
I had a very different experience of the police presence. The officers were friendly and positive. In my opinion they were there to protect us marchers.
I have been highly critical of the SPD in the past and, regrettably, will most likely be so again in the future when the situation warrants it, though today my experience with them was a positive one.
Ed Byrnes
misjustice on January 16 at 8:20 p.m.
The Rev. Happy Watkins delivered the same speech the last time that I was able to attend the march; he moved me to tears with his rendition. He will be missed at future MLK Day celebrations. Thank you Rev. Happy for your many contributions to our community! You will be missed!
; )
Spokanelaw on January 16 at 10:32 p.m.
I had the distinct sense that the SPD was proud to be defending the citizens’ right to express themselves.
arroyoribera on January 16 at 11:04 p.m.
Today’s event was powerful and I too shed tears during the aways inspired recitation of Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech by Rev. Watkins. The turn out was excellent and spirits were high, though I personally felt the route was too short, certainly much shorter than I remember it being in many years past.
Nevertheless I like many have long wished that Rev. Happy Watkins would have periodically substituted Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech for King’s 4/4/1967 Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” speech at NYC’s Riverside Church in which King preached against the “triple evils of racism, economic exploitation, and militarism” and called the United States “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today”, realities which remain true to this day.
Still it was very good to see us back in the middle of the street.
I was not the only one disappointed last April 2011 when the that march was routed (by decision of whom it was not clear) through Riverfront Park where there was essentially no one present to witness it and where it was as if the march had not occurred. I was not the only one who commented then and subsequently that we could only imagine that Dr. King would have faced the January 2011 bomb threat with a march right back down the same route in April 2011, if not sooner.
Congratulations to those who have organized the event over the years and to the next generation that Mr. Bush and Reverend Watkins now call to take over the event in future years. Unless we remain ever vigilant, the white supremacist forces which remain in our area will again be emboldened to act.
arroyoribera on January 16 at 11:07 p.m.
I meant to include this link to the audio and text versions of the April 4, 1967 “Beyond Vietnam: Time to Break Silence” speech.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2564.htm
David Brookbank
RedCedar on January 16 at 11:18 p.m.
The nice think about MLK, from a moneyed white power establishment point of view is that he’s safely dead and has been for a long time. Everybody likes to remember that he had a dream. Not too many remember that a lot of his words verged on communism and revolution, that his marchers were seriously feared as being the start of nationwide insurrection by blacks, that if he had any access at all to men of power it was because they’d rather deal with him than Malcolm X or the Black Panthers. Dr King had a lot more fire in his belly than people give him credit for (or fear him for) today.
Ed Byrnes on January 16 at 11:51 p.m.
David,
Thank you for that link, Dr. King saw the forest through the trees.
Ed
Dazzeetrader11 on January 17 at 12:04 a.m.
And it’s also good to remember that he was a Republican. Southern Democrats had betrayed his people too many times.
soccermomsusie on January 17 at 7:35 a.m.
Hey Everyone, A Belated Happy Martin Luther King Day! That’s right!
It is an amazing country that we live in. Fifty years ago, MLK was viewed as a Communist. And that was before we started calling Obamatron a Communist for making us buy health insurance from private companies. That was when being a Communist meant something. Now we have sugar-coated King to the point where even the most Conservative elected officials remember him as a long-lost brother and comrade-in-nonarms.
MLK had moved beyond race and was probably shot because of his views on the economy and the Vietnam War. He was dangerously trying to unite all poor people regardless of their race (yuck). CLASS WARFARE! CLASS WARFARE!
Dazzee, You bring up a good point about him being a Republican. However, it is important to note that in the beginning, the Republicans were called “Red Republicans” because they were not only interested in freeing the slaves in the south, but also in promoting unionism and worker’s rights in the north. The birth of Our Grand Old Party had a lot of help from followers of Karl Marx. Lincoln was unabashedly a Socialist (Gross) and used European anarchist immigrant generals in the Civil War. YUCK! A shameful past, in other words. But that was then. This is now!
What I would like to see is some balance. I propose a holiday for the president who today best represents we Conservatives. How about a GWB Day? We could have an SUV Rally instead of a march. Do something nice for a wealthy person on that day too. Maybe March 20th? That was the day in Iraq when we invaded.
I HAVE A DREAM! COME ON SPOKANE! MAKE MY DREAM COME TRUE!
HEAR OUR VOICE!!!
TOOBAD2 on January 17 at 8:51 a.m.
just another community organizer that will not be missed just like the one in the white house they both divide the country and promote raciest on both sides only this one is in the grave and still doing it
JBlim on January 17 at 9:16 a.m.
That’s pretty warped, toobad2