Dr. Martin Luther’s King, Jr’s August 28, 1963 I Have a Dream speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., ended with, “… when we allow freedom [to] ring, … we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
Network employees, students, faculty, and staff marched to keep the dream alive at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dayton March and Rally. Nearly 10,000 people from the community including local, state, and federal government officials marched from the Charles R. Drew Health Center on Third Street in Dayton, crossed over the Peace Bridge at Third and Edwin C. Moses Blvd., and continued to the Dayton Convention Center. Marchers were encouraged to continue to promote racial equality and cultural understanding.
“I participate in the MLK march each year, simply to be part of the solution. I want my children to know that things can change; however, we have to be willing to BE the change we want to see! We are much stronger together, than any of us are alone.”
-Dawn R. Day, IS, Sycamore
“I was fortunate enough to walk with my family. It is really important to me to teach my children that we are all equal and part of the same the community.”
-Monica Meilinger, Network Marketing, Prestige
Thank you to Dawn Day and family; Natalie Mescher, IS, Sycamore; Monica Meilinger and family, Network Marketing, Prestige; and Jennifer Adams and son, Network Marketing, Prestige, who represented the network.