Marchers will gather on August 28 at 9 a.m. at St. Mark, 1101 Euclid Avenue, in Kansas City. In the Kansas City Star in the Local section on August 27, 2010, Brian Burnes has an article, Historic march to be remembered, in which he quotes Rev. Ralph Gordon Wright as saying, "I don't care about statistics or where we were last year. They (the murders) must stop." There is also a push to focus on more economic opportunities in Kansas City. Rev. Sam Mann, pastor of St. Mark Union Congregration says that the creation of economic opportunity is one of the solutions to the homicides in Kansas City.
Many churches, as well as individuals, in the Kansas City area will be commemorating the historic march of Martin Luther King which was on August 28 in 1963. There are those who will attend the local rallies, but others will be traveling to Washington DC where there is a "Reclaim the Dream" rally organized by Al Sharpton, head of the National Action Network. Sharpton's rally is near the Tidal Basin, near the National Mall. The rally will feature Education Secretary Arne Duncan, National Urban League president Marc Morial and Martin Luther King III.
Dr. Alveda King, niece to Dr. Martin Luther King and director of African-American outreach for Priests for Life and the founder of King for America, will be speaking at Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally which is also in Washington DC August 28.
Dr. Alveda King says in her article in the Christian Science Monitor, "Americans are hungry to reclaim the symbols of our liberty, hard won by an unlikely group of outnumbered, outgunned, underfunded patriots determined not to live in servitude to the British Empire. If we want to sing the national anthem at a memorial to the man who led this fledgling nation out of slavery, and made my people free, we should be able to send our voices soaring to the heavens."
The skepticism of the motives for the rallies is a genuine cause for concern. Sharpton accuses Beck of politicizing Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech and the civil rights history at the Lincoln Memorial. Others believe Sharpton is trying to antagonize the Beck camp. Many people in the Kansas City area are going to stay home because of fears of safety issues. At this point, a local rally sounds pretty safe and sane.
The economy and the murders in Kansas City are genuiine, heart-felt, and commendable concerns for a rally and commemorates the "I have a dream" speech in a good way. Let's come together, no matter what color we are, and earnestly pray that the rallies will be peaceful, meaningful, and inspirational for all Americans, and honor Dr. King's memory.
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