Crowds converge in Washington DC with divergent views of MLK's 'dream'

Crowds converge in Washington DC with divergent views of MLK's 'dream'

WASHINGTON - Thousands braved humid temperatures to pack the bleachers, athletic field and street outside Dunbar High School for the "Reclaim the Dream" rally Saturday. The Rev. Al Sharpton, the last speaker of the event, received rapturous applause from a crowd of mostly African-American supporters. Sharpton told marchers not to engage with, or be dissuaded by TV and radio pundit Glenn Beck and his supporters, who simultaneously held a significantly larger, highly-publicized rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. "They may have the mall, but we have the message," Sharpton said. "They may have the platform, but we have the dream. Just cause you got the spot, doesn't mean you're standing up for the dream." A few miles away, an estimated 300,000 people jammed the Lincoln Memorial for Beck's "Restoring Honor" event, the same place where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech 47 years ago Saturday. Some there said they were spurred by political or religious reasons to attend. "When the politicians are corrupt, things like this have to happen," said Gus August Eller, who drove 20 hours from Wisconsin to attend the "Restoring Honor" event after growing disillusioned by his local officials. For many attendees, the trip to Washington D.C. began overnight Saturday. Thousands who attended Sharpton's rally boarded buses organized by the National Action Network and other civil rights groups, traveling from as far away as Chicago, Mississippi and Texas to attend the rally. Zamirah El-Amin, a corporate lawyer from Harlem, rode to the rally on a National Action Network bus. She said she wanted to go to the "Reclaim the Dream" event, in part, to ensure King's legacy was being upheld. "It seems like there's a lot of divisiveness in this country right now, and its very disheartening," she said. "I couldn't just sit home and let this day pass without trying to at least take the journey." After Sharpton's speech, the crowd at Dunbar High School lined up, and then marched down N Street in the city's Mount Vernon neighborhood, where some residents watched them from their windows or stoops. Scores of marchers chanted slogans like "No Justice! No Peace!" as they made their way to the King Memorial site. Many marchers wore T-shirts with images of King, President Obama or the first family on them. Others hoisted signs with slogans that included "Fired up? Vote!," "Immigrant Struggles are Ours Too," "Jesus Shares Our Dream," and "Obama, Thanks for Saving the United States." Later, "Reclaim the Dream" marchers walked along the Tidal Basin, on the final leg of the 3-mile march, where they passed "Restoring Honor" participants, some wearing t-shirts that said: "Restoring Honor," or "100 percent Red-Blooded American."