By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
Sixty-two years to the day after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, thousands poured into Lower Manhattan on Thursday, linking arms and voices in what was billed as the largest demonstration of its kind since Donald Trump returned to the White House.
Led by Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network, the March on Wall Street drew national civil rights leaders, clergy, activists, and elected officials, all demanding economic justice, equity, and fair opportunity at a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion programs have been dismantled by the Trump administration. The march began at Foley Square, paused at the African Burial Ground National Monument, and wound its way down Broadway to Whitehall Street. Participants spanned generations and professions — labor unions, fraternities and sororities, educators, and teens — all united by the call to defend rights secured in the 1960s and to push back against what they see as the biggest transfer of wealth in U.S. history.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested earlier this year while protesting ICE, challenged fellow municipal leaders to act. “We are here because our ancestors demand that we be here, because the times demand that we be here, because every mayor in every city in America should be rising up right now as Donald Trump tries to send the National Guard into our communities — we are here as they create the biggest transference of wealth this country has ever seen,” Baraka declared. The presence of Martin Luther King III and Andrea Waters King underscored the continuity of the movement. “It’s extraordinarily significant, but in the back of mind, I am thinking about how sad this is, that 62 years after Dad delivered that dream for our nation and world that we are in the position we are in,” King said. “And the goal is to find ways to move this nation forward around economic inequality.” King also posted on social media: “We were proud to join @NationalAction and my good friend, @TheRevAl, for the #MarchOnWallStreet. On the 62nd anniversary of the #MarchOnWashington and in the financial capital of the world, we marched for economic justice and fair opportunities for ALL.”
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, stood with Rev. Dr. Boise Kimber, president of the National Baptist Convention USA Inc., marking the moment’s deep historical ties. “It marked 62 years after the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and we continue to march, we continue to speak out, and we continue to demand freedom, justice, equality, and equity,” Chavis said. “Thus, we join the Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network in the March on Wall Street. The Rev. Boise Kimber and I stood together, shoulder to shoulder, at the March on Wall Street. I was pleased to represent the Black Press of America under the auspices of the NNPA. In the words of publisher-leader Frederick Douglass, ‘Freedom is a constant struggle.’”
Rev. Dr. Christopher Davis, General Secretary at the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., drove home the financial realities confronting communities of faith. “I don’t care the size of your church,” Davis said. “Whether you have 10,000 members or 10 members, you can’t do ministry without money, so we have to be concerned about the economic plight of the people that fill our pews.” Among those addressing the crowd were Michael Eric Dyson, Benjamin Crump, Melanie Campbell, Maya Wiley, and others, each pointing to the urgency of resisting what they described as attacks on democracy, workers, and Black communities. “It means we continue the movement 62 years later, marching on Wall Street, raising the issues of income inequity, DEI, and the takeover of cities with Black mayors. The dream is alive,” Sharpton told the crowd.
