CAIR-LA participates in OC rally to commemorate historic March on Washington.
(Sep 01, 2013 – Anaheim, CA )
CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush spoke at a march and rally, alongside community leaders, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech during the historic March on Washington. Ayloush delivered an invocation in which he expressed the support of American Muslims in the fight for equality, as well as the hope that America, as a nation, will be able to fully realize Dr. King’s dream in the near future.
SEE: OC Register, by Kendra Ablaza
Members of more than 25 organizations met at Sasscer Park on Sunday for a symbolic march and rally commemorating the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington, during which Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.
About 200 people took part in the nearly half-mile march covering the block bounded by 5th Street, North Broadway and 4th Street in downtown Santa Ana.
The march, led by a coalition formed specifically for the event, was followed by a rally featuring speakers who gave firsthand accounts of the 1963 march; highlights of the anniversary ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday; and advice on the next steps toward King’s goals.
The Rev. Sarah Halverson, a pastor at Fairview Community Church in Costa Mesa, was one of six religious leaders invited to speak before the march. She recognized events around the world, like the conflict in Syria, that she felt required a peaceful response.
“We are on the brink of war, and I am fearful of what will come,” Halverson said. “We have been marching a 50-year journey, 200-year journey and 2,000-year journey, and we still have a dream. How far will we go together?”
Marchers held signs promoting various causes, with slogans such as “End Racism Now” and “Celebrate Diversity” while they walked along almost-empty sidewalks in downtown Santa Ana. They were seen by some restaurant-goers and car passengers before looping back to the park.
Groups such as NAACP-Orange County, GMO Free Orange County, the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Los Angeles, the Laguna Woods Democratic Club and Ron Paul’s Campaign For Liberty were represented, among other organizations.