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57 years later, Denverites continue the legacy of the March on Washington

Posted at 9:58 PM, Aug 28, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-29 00:55:30-04

DENVER -- Denverites commemorated the 1963 March on Washington with rallies and marches of their own on Friday. The demands may have changed, but the message of equality and racial justice remained the same.

"I just feel like we need to support each other today," said one protester who did not want to be identified. "That’s what we need, is support."

One of the rallies staged near the Martin Luther King Jr. statue in City Park brought speakers and organizers together to discuss the work that still needs to be done.

"We want to make sure that we are visible, we are active. We are here," said Joy Walker, the vice president of the Simmons Foundation that co-hosted the event. "We are the modern-day Martin Luther King and Malcolm X coming together."

The evolution was seen in several other rallies across the city. Later in the day, a speech by Omar Montgomery, the president of Aurora's NAACP chapter asked protesters, "What are we protesting for? And what are we going to do in the end? What is our plan?"

His plea to marchers was to focus on real-world action plans to bring about legislative and social change.

"In 1965 we came together so we can vote," explained Montgomery. "And in 2020, we break down the walls of racism."

The rallies in Denver coincided with numerous others across the country and a major rally, with tens-of-thousands of protesters, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.