It is often said that time heals all – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a mirror of that saying back in 1963 when two months before he gave his iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in Washington D.C., he delivered an earlier version of it right here in the city of Detroit.
On June 23, 1963, the reverend and activist participated in the Walk to Freedom, where 125,000 people marched down Woodward in a demonstration for civil rights. As Detroit’s Black population continued to grow in the 1960s due to the Great Migration, issues were becoming more endemic for residents such as housing and job discrimination and educational prejudices. Moreover, the date June 23 was used to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1943 Detroit Race Riot – for Detroit, June will always remain a month of reflection and resilience.
On Thursday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer commemorated June 22 – 25 as “June Jubilee: A Celebration of Freedom,” to honor the legacy of King and the efforts of the Detroit Branch NAACP.
Ineluctably, the Detroit Branch NAACP gear up to commemorate the iconic moment in civil rights history with its “June Jubilee: A Celebration of Freedom” events held in the heart of downtown Detroit. The weekend-long slate of events pays homage to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic participation in the 1963 Detroit Walk to Freedom, which became a pivotal milestone in the fight for racial equality.
The NAACP’s June Jubilee events span from June 22-25, including the Freedom Walk Summit, the unveiling of a Dr. King sculpture in Hart Plaza, the 60th anniversary Walk to Freedom, and the 68th annual Fight for Freedom Fund dinner, all of which are designed to honor Dr. King’s legacy and empower the community to continue the pursuit of justice and equality. This year’s celebration will remind Detroiters, and the nation, of the ongoing struggle for civil rights and the importance of unity.
Detroit NAACP Freedom Walk Summit kicked-off the Jubilee weekend Thursday morning, where conversations about policing, Black home ownership and critical race theory took center stage with hopes to reflect where we have been and how to move forward.
Panelists — from city officials to scholars — spoke Thursday about the historical context of the iconic march and how Black history is indeed American history, and how it merely cannot be erased. The theme was one of reflection – ‘Chaos or Community: Where do we go from here?’
“What we know about 1963 is that Black people in the city of Detroit marched and did what they were doing to support what was happening in Detroit,” said Detroit Historian Jamon Jordan. “But also, what was happening in other places, particularly Birmingham and that’s what we ought to be doing today.”
There was a total of four panels – each bringing thought provoking conversations to the forefront.
Conversations that included not only the history of the 1963 Freedom Walk but the important role Detroit played during the Civil Rights Movement which in turn led to disintegrating barriers.
Barriers such as policy and policing, prison reform, and the truth behind the agenda of bail bonds. Panelists were in the driver’s seat of uncomfortable conversations surrounding the reality of Black homeownership and the wealth gap that continues to tag along decades after the Fair Housing Act. Equivalently, the importance of voting was a main character in Thursday panel discussion – speakers stated that being present for all elections both locally and nationally and understanding what is on the ballot is essential, especially within Black communities.
“Politics really is local, I think your school board is more important than the president of the United of States,” said Michigan Secretary of State Senior Advisor Heaster Wheeler, “You really don’t have power if you don’t use it.”
Pushing the discussion towards critical race theory, a conversation led by Professor Kimberle Crenshaw: ‘What it is, What it Ain’t and Can We Simply Tell the Truth.’
“Without Black history there would be no serious American history because we are America,” said Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. “We are powerful and proud. James Baldwin said, ‘I love America more than any nation on earth; therefore, I reserve the right to criticize her perpetually.”
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