On June 23, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., hosted by the Detroit Council for Human Rights, marched with 125,000 people down Woodward Avenue. Inside Cobo Hall, he gave his speech “Walk to Freedom” which would be the basis for the now historic “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington.

“I have a dream this afternoon, that one day, right here in Detroit, Negroes will be able to buy a house or rent a house anywhere that their money will carry them, and they will be able to get a job.”

On the 50th anniversary last year (2013) of King’s march in Detroit, thousands marched down Woodward with the theme “Jobs, Peace, and Justice.” Detroit and the US have come a long way since King visited in 1963, but there is still a long way to go.

Anyone have estimate of number of marchers from 2013?

Sources:

• Walter P. Reuther Library
• NPR