Annual MLK March celebrates freedom, equality

January 23, 2020 - Eastside San Antonio

Photos by: Antonia Padilla - Contributor, SA Sentinel

Article by: B. Kay Richter - Writer, SA Sentinel

"Honor, Glory, Redemption - whaaaa-ooo!" 

This was the chant heard from locals during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. March as thousands came together on Monday morning to celebrate the themes of equality, tolerance, and freedom. 

The event itself has its own interesting story. 

The first official march in San Antonio took place in 1987. Since then, the march has grown from a partnership between the City of San Antonio and the MLK Jr. Commission.

But the road to public recognition of the march and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a state holiday was not an easy one. According to the San Antonio Observer, the tactics used to sway legislators of the need for action had not been used before. 

"For years, delegations traveled to Austin to meet with legislators, the governor, and the speaker of the Texas House, and every year they would listen and do nothing," writes Mario Marcel Salas, a member of Frontline 2000, a civil and human rights organization that spearheaded the demand for a Martin Luther King State Holiday by traveling to Austin.

Eventually, the bill became law in 1991 due to the imposing economic threat of withdrawing the SuperBowl games from the city of Houston. 

The march now boasts more than 300,000 participants and is one of the largest marches in the United States, making it an annual attraction for those continuing who wish to carry on King's message of love and peaceful resistance.