Black Americans march on Washington to commemorate Martin Luther King and highlight racial injustice

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  • Video report by ITV News Correspondent Robert Morre

Black Americans have gathered in the US capital to commemorate the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom while highlighting racial injustice in America.

Thousands gathered on Friday near the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic “I Have A Dream” address.

They are gathering on the heels of yet another shooting by a white police officer of a black man.

29-year-old Jacob Blake was shot by in the back by police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last Sunday - sparking days of protests and violence that left two dead.

“I want to give space for Black people in the crowd to say they are not OK,” said Jumaane Williams, New York City’s public advocate, who addressed march attendees shortly after it began.

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She said: “We are like the nameless grandmothers who got in the streets and said, ‘We will make you live up to what America says she is.

“We are here. We’re not going anywhere.”

Activist Frank Nitty, who said he walked 750 miles for 24 days from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Washington for Friday’s march, spoke to the audience about persistence in the fight for justice.

Nitty said: “Are y’all tired? Because I’m tired.

"They think this is a negotiation, but I came here to demand change.

"My grandson ain’t gonna march for the same things that my granddaddy marched for, this is a revolution.”

March attendee Jerome Butler, 33, echoed Nitty’s sentiment, he said: "My hope is that my son doesn’t have to be out here in another 50 years protesting the same thing."

Many attendees showed up wearing T-shirts bearing the image and words of the late Rep. John Lewis who, until his death last month, was the last living speaker at the original March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of National Action Network, speaks at the March on Washington. Credit: AP

The 1963 march is one of the most famous political rallies in world history, and one is of the largest ever gatherings in Washington DC with over 200,000 people advocating for social change.

Participants streaming in for the march late Friday morning stood in lines that stretched for several blocks, as organisers insisted on taking temperatures as part of coronavirus protocols.

Organisers reminded attendees to practice social distancing and wear masks throughout the program.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of National Action Network, speaks at the March on Washington. Credit: AP

Martin Luther King III, a son of the late civil rights icon and the Rev. Al Sharpton, whose civil rights organisation, the National Action Network, planned Friday’s event, delivered keynote addresses.

They urged federal policing reforms and demanded voting rights protections ahead of the November general election.

King said: “We’ve come to bear witness, to remain awake, to remember from where we’ve come and to carefully consider where we’re going.

“Whether you’re here in person or watching on (television networks), thank you for joining us for this March on Washington.

Crowds gathering at the Lincoln Memorial. Credit: AP

“We’re taking a step forward on America’s rocky but righteous journey toward justice,” he added.

Mr Sharpton assembled the families of an ever-expanding roll call of murder victims: Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner, among others.

Following the commemorative rally, participants will march to the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial in West Potomac Park, next to the National Mall, and then disperse.

In June, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act, which would ban police use of stranglehold manoeuvres and end qualified immunity for officers.

Yolanda Renee King, grandaughter of Martin Luther King Jr, speaks at the March on Washington. Credit: AP

The bill is now in the hands of the Republican-controlled Senate.

Floyd, a black man, died on May 25 after a white police officer in Minneapolis held a knee to his neck for nearly eight minutes, sparking weeks of sustained protests and unrest from coast to coast.

Later in the evening, the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of more than 150 Black-led organisations that make up the broader Black Lives Matter movement, will hold its virtual Black National Convention.

The convention will coincide with the unveiling of a new Black political agenda intended to build on the success of this summer’s protests.