Even a pandemic could not stop Seattleites from showing up to the 40th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day rally and march on Jan. 17, a day to reflect on the life and legacy of a man and the movement toward racial equality that he helped inspire.
People gathered in the parking lot of Garfield High School for the program that kicked off at 11 a.m. The 2022 theme was “Truth in Education NOW!,” a timely subject given the recent backlash from predominantly white parents across the country against the teaching of factual history and inclusion of books that could make their children uncomfortable.
The crowd built over the course of an hour until the parking lot was packed with people and the rally got started. The program began with the singing of the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and spoken word poetry before handing off to former King County Councilmember Larry Gossett, who presented an award to the family of the late Willie Austin.
When the speeches finished, the march began. It wound through the Central District, past the Children and Family Justice Center, better known as the youth jail that community members spent years opposing, and down James Street until marchers arrived at Seattle’s city hall for another round of speeches, song and spoken word, not to mention Ezell’s Famous Chicken.
Educational justice was one of the first and biggest fights of the civil rights movement, said LaNesha DeBardelaben, president and chief executive officer of the Northwest African American Museum.
“The Brown vs Board of Education Supreme Court decision of 1954 came long before the victories in public transportation, housing desegregation and that is because educational justice was just that important,” DeBardelaben told the crowd.
Ashley Archibald was the editor of Real Change through July 2023, and is now a communication specialist for Purpose. Dignity. Action.
Read more of the Jan. 19-25, 2022 issue.