Sharpton's 'Reclaim the Dream' event brings thousands to honor MLK

[steve2470]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/28/AR2010082802564.html

Thousands of people joined the Rev. Al Sharpton and other leaders Saturday to commemorate the anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington in 1963. The event, billed as "Reclaim the Dream," included a five-mile march that culminated at the Mall, where conservative talk show host Glenn Beck had organized the simultaneous "Restoring Honor" rally.

In an interview before the gathering began at Dunbar High School in Northwest Washington, Sharpton said he called the event to show respect for the ideals of King, who made his famous "I Have a Dream" speech 47 years ago near where Beck spoke to thousands Saturday.

"People are clear in what Dr. King's dream was about, and we will not react to those who try to distort that dream," Sharpton said. He was one of several prominent leaders who condemned Beck's rally, despite cries from organizers that "Restoring Honor" was not intended to dishonor King or his work.

Police kept an alert eye on the crowds for both events, concerned that skirmishes might result from the opposing camps. The events prompted crowds at end-of-the-line Metro stations because of heavy ridership by those heading in from the suburbs. Metro officials said several stations were busy because of riders unfamiliar with how to buy fare cards. To ease the crunch, officials recommended that people at the Franconia-Springfield station (at the end of the Blue line in Fairfax County) and at the Shady Grove station (at the end of the Red line in Montgomery County) use other stations.