Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, holding microphone at Detroit MLK Day March on Washington Blvd. downtown, January 15, 2007. (Photo: Robert Akrawi).
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Event: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rally & March, Mon. Jan. 17, Noon
Location: Central United Methodist Church, Woodward at Adams
Sponsor: Detroit MLK Planning Committee
Contact: 313.671.3715 or 405.2185
E-mail: panafnewswire@gmail.com, panafnewswire@yahoo.com
URL: http://www.mecawi.org or http://mlkdetroit.org.
2011 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rally & March to Call for Jobs, Peace and Justice
Civil Rights Veteran Willie Mukasa Ricks to Keynote
This year will mark the eighth annual MLK Day Rally & March in downtown Detroit on Monday, Jan. 17 at Noon. The event was established to reaffirm the peace and social justice legacy of the martyred civil rights leader who would have been 82-years-old. The theme for 2011 is "Community, Youth and the Struggle for Jobs, Peace and Economic Justice" and will enjoy the participation of many activists from throughout the metropolitan area.
Detroit is the epicenter of the global economic crisis where half the people are unemployed, schools are being privatized and closed, police terrorism runs rampant, tens of thousands are losing their homes every year and more are without healthcare and social services.
What this period tells us is that there is no substitute for mass organization and programmatic struggle. The workers, community and youth must be organized in their own name in order to move the people forward.
At the same time, the escalation of war in Afghanistan and the extending of the conflict into Pakistan is, along with the continuing presence of U.S. forces and contractors in Iraq, are all draining the national treasury of over $700 billion every year. These resources, our tax dollars, should be utilized to create millions of jobs, healthcare for all, universal quality education and decent housing for residents of Detroit, the country and the world.
Participants in this year's MLK Day will be honored with the presence of keynote speaker, Mr. Willie Mukasa Ricks, a former field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), who worked and marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the South. Mukasa brings 50 years of consistent organizing on behalf of oppressed peoples in the U.S., the Caribbean, Africa and the world.
In addition, Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson will address the rally and pay special tribute to the late Rev. Dr. Lucius Walker, the founder of the Inter-religious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) and a leader in Pastors for Peace.
For more information contact the Detroit MLK Planning Committee at 313.671.3715.
Abayomi Azikiwe,
Media Liaison
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