Letter of the Day (Aug. 26): Martin Luther King

August 26, 2011 at 1:55AM
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington (Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

This weekend marks the opening of the Martin Luther King National Memorial in Washington and the anniversary of the March on Washington.

Forty-eight years ago, 69 Minnesotans from every walk of life boarded a chartered Northwest Orient plane to participate in the march.

Representatives included a coalition of ordinary citizens -- black and white, men and women, religious leaders from every faith denomination, businessmen and businesswomen, union and nonunion workers, educators, nonprofit workers and professionals.

We were led by Minneapolis Mayor Arthur Naftalin, U.S. Rep. Don Fraser and local civil rights activists Josie Johnson and Matthew Little.

Upon arriving in Washington, we were greeted by Sens. Hubert Humphrey and Eugene McCarthy, who also led our delegation to the march. It was a moment and time in our history that I and my fellow marchers will never forget.

We joined hands along with tens of thousands of Americans from every state in petitioning our government for jobs, freedom and racial equality of all of our citizens.

The culmination to our march was the opportunity to hear those immortal words spoken to us by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: "Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last."

MAX FALLEK, MINNEAPOLIS

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