Sunday would have been Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 88th birthday.
While his life was cut short far too soon, his historic legacy and fearless spirit have remained at the core of motivations for forward progress within the African-American community and beyond for decades.
In celebration of his memory, the National Action Network hosted The MLK March in Washington, DC on Saturday in an effort to continue the fight for African-American civil rights began by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and brought to the White House by President Barack Obama. Among the many highlights of the event was a powerful speech delivered by former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner, who encouraged attendees to press forward towards change for the better and stand firm in knowing that the Black community has overcome similar hardships in the past to the ones we face today.
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“We have been here before. And I know that you might be disappointed but I want you to take solace in these words,” Turner told the massive DC crowd. “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. The valley may be lower, but we’ve been here before. The mountain might be higher, but we’ve been here before. Because our mission for social justice and economic justice and political justice, you see the mission is so high we can’t get over it. And the mission is so low, we can’t go under it.”
The march and rally were among several events taking place in the nationa’s capital this weekend as the country prepares to officially bid farewell to President Obama on January 20.