On 50th anniversary of MLK's speech, locals excited about trip to D.C.

On 50th anniversary of MLK's speech, locals excited about trip to D.C.

Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School sixth-grader Malik Washington left Kankakeeon Friday afternoon with 53 others to join a 50th anniversary pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., in remembrance of MLK's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Malik said his own dream today is "to be successful." But he was going to Washington "to march for justice ... for Trayvon ... jobs ... I have a dream." Though just 11, he said he thinks racial relations have improved because "we communicate with each other better."

His grandmother, Shawn Love, of Kankakee, said she was making the trip "to take my grandson to this historic moment and to march on Washington for justice. I want to teach my grandson you have to take the positive way to do things in life."

She planned to meet in Washington with two other grandsons from Maryland and her brother, Kankakee native Angelo Bailey, of D.

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Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech

Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech

While the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, D.C., will draw an estimated hundreds of thousands from around the globe Saturday, it's hardly being billed as a celebratory event.

The Kankakee County Branch of the NAACP is sponsoring a bus trip to the nation's capitol, and a group of about 50 riders will depart from Kankakee this afternoon. Theodis Pace, president of the local NAACP chapter, said there is a specific purpose behind the venture.

"Our focus is it's a continuation of what happened on Aug. 28, 1963," Pace said.

On that date, acclaimed civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream'' speech, which expressed his hope that racial equality would one day be reality in America.

Pace said that day has yet to arrive.

"Fifty years later, voting rights are being challenged, jobs are an issue and there is racial profiling,'' he said.

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Locals reflect on anniversary of MLK's historic speech

It was a speech that both celebrated and indicted a nation.

Beneath the solemn gaze of Abraham Lincoln, a young civil rights activist, well-known for his oratory mastery, delivered a speech that would become as emblematic as the statute behind him.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., less than five years before hisassassination in 1968, roused a crowd of at least 250,000 people at the March on Washington with a call for freedom, hearkening back to Lincoln's own shining moment — the Emancipation Proclamation.

"One hundred years later the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land," King said that day. "So we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition."

Hundreds of thousands are expected to fill the mall today as President Barack Obama, the nation's first black president, is set to deliver his own remarks.

Last week, tens of thousands, maybe more, traveled to the same spot to honor and soak in that moment in history when King delivered his historic speech.

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Speech Buddies Camp for toddlers event set

• BOURBONNAIS

Speech Buddies Camp for toddlers

Presence St. Mary's Rehabilitation Services is hosting Speech Buddies: A Speech Camp for Toddlers beginning on Monday, Sept. 9 at their Total Wellness Center, 21 Heritage Drive, Bourbonnais.

The cost for this program is $5 per child/session. This camp is for children ages 2-3 and consists of four, 45-minute sessions for both English and/or Spanish speaking families. Spanish sessions are at 10 a.m. or 4:30 p.m. on Mondays beginning Monday, Sept. 9. English sessions are on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. or 4:30 p.m. beginning Wednesday, Sept. 11. Speech Buddies explores language through early literature books and activities. Sessions will target the areas of sound awareness, vocabulary growth, social language skills and putting words together to form sentences. Parents will participate with their children and will have take-home activities to reinforce language and continue the learning experience at home.

For more information or to register, call 815-937-8220.

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On 50th anniversary of MLK's speech, locals excited about trip to D.C.

On 50th anniversary of MLK's speech, locals excited about trip to D.C.

Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School sixth-grader Malik Washington left Kankakeeon Friday afternoon with 53 others to join a 50th anniversary pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., in remembrance of MLK's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Malik said his own dream today is "to be successful." But he was going to Washington "to march for justice ... for Trayvon ... jobs ... I have a dream." Though just 11, he said he thinks racial relations have improved because "we communicate with each other better."

His grandmother, Shawn Love, of Kankakee, said she was making the trip "to take my grandson to this historic moment and to march on Washington for justice. I want to teach my grandson you have to take the positive way to do things in life."

She planned to meet in Washington with two other grandsons from Maryland and her brother, Kankakee native Angelo Bailey, of D.

View the original article here

Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech

Local NAACP group heads to D.C. to hear Obama's speech

While the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, D.C., will draw an estimated hundreds of thousands from around the globe Saturday, it's hardly being billed as a celebratory event.

The Kankakee County Branch of the NAACP is sponsoring a bus trip to the nation's capitol, and a group of about 50 riders will depart from Kankakee this afternoon. Theodis Pace, president of the local NAACP chapter, said there is a specific purpose behind the venture.

"Our focus is it's a continuation of what happened on Aug. 28, 1963," Pace said.

On that date, acclaimed civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream'' speech, which expressed his hope that racial equality would one day be reality in America.

Pace said that day has yet to arrive.

"Fifty years later, voting rights are being challenged, jobs are an issue and there is racial profiling,'' he said.

View the original article here