March on Washington’s 60th anniversary

A voice of calm and reason during chaotic, troubled times, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for only 16½ minutes that hazy, warm summer day in August 1963 at the height of the March on Washington.

His address — delivered six decades ago on Monday and often referred to as his "I Have a Dream" speech — came after years of civil unrest; of Americans of color reaching for the equal rights envisioned for them in the Declaration of Independence; of water cannons, riot police, and other efforts to turn back desegregation; and of peaceful protest vs. sometimes-violent resistance.

King's speech, as brief as it was, packed enough power to lead to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It helped make the U.S. a more-inclusive, more-tolerant nation. It helped us become one.



This isn't a suggestion we're free of racism and other problems now. Of course not. Prejudice remains a persistent parasite that shows itself in subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle ways. We're not free of hate or violence. We're not immune to divide, as rioting and police-community tensions in recent years have demonstrated.

Sixty years later, on another milestone anniversary, King's speech, unfortunately, remains relevant. It remains a reminder of how we're supposed to treat each other— and that we can rely on each other.

The speech followed a march from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, a march of religious leaders, labor leaders, and Black organizers, a march serenaded with the songs of Joan Baez and Duluth native Bob Dylan.

A popular annual march in Duluth each January, from the Washington Center to the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center in commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, similarly features community leaders, music, and words of encouragement.

In honor of the speech’s anniversary this coming week, surely all of us, every single one of us, can find at least 16½ minutes to read its text again, to consider anew the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They're seared into the consciousness of our nation. And they're reprinted on today's page, just as they've been on Duluth News Tribune Opinion pages of years past along with similar versions of this editorial.

This Minnesota Opinion editorial is the viewpoint of the Duluth News Tribune Editorial Board. Send feedback to: opinion@wctrib.com.