On Sunday, August 25th, we went to church at the Metropolitan Baptist Church for a lively service that included praise and worship, fellowship and a sermon that touched all of our hearts. The sermon was from Galatians 6:9: “faint not, for if you endure to the end, you will reap a harvest of blessings”.  The minister encouraged us and boldly proclaimed, “weary can’t win”.  We all proclaimed it for ourselves.  All week long, we couldn’t stop talking about “that sermon”! Church was followed by a wonderful Gospel brunch at the Hamilton hotel.  The menu included shrimp and grits, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, dirty rice, greens, gumbo, catfish, fried chicken, French toast, pecan pie, fresh fruit, cornbread and salad. Not for the faint of heart.  That is the shortlist of food items that were available.  Umm, umm, good!! We enjoyed ourselves to THE MAX! We were especially tickled when they asked for background singers to come up on “I Love to Praise His Holy Name”, and Pastor Harvey encouraged me to go up on stage with him to sing.  Bert soon joined us, plus three other young ladies… and then we became stars for one song. We had so much fun!  We left the Gospel Brunch and headed to the American History Museum where an exhibit called African American History 1883 to 1963 was on display.  It was amazing!  There was an actual lace collar and handkerchief that belonged to Harriet Tubman. I stared in amazement at the personal belongings of a woman who was indeed one of the bravest women in all history. She risked her life for the freedom of her people! Bless her soul! There were also plenty of history items related to the civil rights struggle and to the March on Washington. It was a lot to process in just a couple of hours!

Follow this link for more information about Metropolitan Baptist Church:

http://www.metropolitanbaptist.org/

Follow this link to learn more about the Hamilton’s Gospel Brunch:
http://www.thehamiltondc.com/live/event/1230pm-gospel-brunch-3

Theme: A Day Like No Other

On August 28, 2013 I marched on Washington. Fifty years after Martin Luther King, Jr. and 250,000 people marched for jobs and freedom.  It was a wonderful, exhilarating, overwhelming, tearful, joyful, celebratory, miraculous, unifying and peaceful experience. I marched with some of the brave souls who marched in 1963, Blacks, Whites, Latinos, children and young adults,  elderly, disabled, Christians and Muslims all marching for justice, jobs and peace.  The people were united in their hearts to see a change in the way America treats the marginalized.  The energy was palpable. The heat, the humidity, not even the rain could turn us around. We were determined as they were fifty years ago to reach our end goal and to reach it together.  One of the highlights of the march for me was when they observed a moment of silence for those who had been there in 1963, and were no longer with us.  I bowed my head and thought of my aunt Hellyne and how much she would have loved to be here today. Well, she was definitely with me in spirit. Uh oh, I can’t even type this without getting teary eyed.  That is what the good part of this day was like. Goodbye D.C. Thanks for the wonderful March on Washington 2013 memories.

Me and my son, Jerrell at the airport.

Gregory and me at the airport on Friday 8/23/2013.

I am finally on my way to D.C.  Gregory and Jerrell took me to the airport. It was a red eye flight at 11:25 p.m.  Bless their hearts, they even parked, and came into the airport to see me off.  I had a very turbulent flight to Dallas-Fort Worth airport, but a very smooth and peaceful plane ride from DFW to Baltimore, thanks to Gregory’s prayers.  I arrived at my hotel in D.C. about 1:00 p.m. D.C. time and I was exhausted. The city was packed with people who were there for the first march, which took place on Saturday, August 24, 2013.  I did not participate in that march, but will march on Wednesday, August 28, 2013.  Others in my group, including my pastor, Harvey Drake, did walk today in the first march.  They saw Al Sharpton and Danny Glover.

In June 1963, leaders from several different organizations formed the Council for United Civil Rights Leadership, an umbrella group which would coordinate funds and messaging.^[27][28] This coalition of leaders, who became known as the “Big Six“, included: A. Philip Randolph, President of The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, who was chosen as the titular head of the march, James Farmer (president of the Congress of Racial Equality), John Lewis (chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), Martin Luther King, Jr. (president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference),^[6] Roy Wilkins (president of the NAACP),^[6] and Whitney Young (president of the National Urban League). Bayard Rustin was also a member of the original planning committee.

 Below you will find a program outlining the schedule of events on that day. Get more information from:

www.ourdocuments.gov August 22, 2013

Transcript of Official Program for the March on Washington (1963) MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM AUGUST 28, 1963 LINCOLN MEMORIAL PROGRAM 1. The National Anthem Led by Marian Anderson. 2. Invocation   The Very Rev. Patrick O’Boyle, Archbishop of Washington. 3. Opening Remarks   A. Philip Randolph, Director March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. 4. Remarks   Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, Stated Clerk, United Presbyterian Church of the   U.S.A.; Vice Chairman, Commission on Race Relations of the National Council   of Churches of Christ in America. 5. Tribute to Negro Women Fighters for Freedom   Daisy Bates   Diane Nash Bevel   Mrs. Medgar Evers   Mrs. Herbert Lee   Rosa Parks   Gloria Richardson Mrs. Medgar Evers 6. Remarks   John Lewis, National Chairman, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. 7. Remarks   Walter Reuther, President, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural   Implement Workers of America, AFL-CIO; Chairman, Industrial Union Department,   AFL-CIO. 8. Remarks   James Farmer, National Director, Congress of Racial Equality. 9. Selection   Eva Jessye Choir 10. Prayer   Rabbi Uri Miller, President Synagogue Council of America. 11. Remarks   Whitney M. Young, Jr., Executive Director, National Urban League. 12. Remarks   Matthew Ahmann, Executive Director, National Catholic Conference for Interracial   Justice. 13. Remarks   Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary, National Association for the Advancement   of Colored People. 14. Selection   Miss Mahalia Jackson 15. Remarks   Rabbi Joachim Prinz, President American Jewish Congress. 16. Remarks   The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., President, Southern Christian Leadership   Conference. 17. The Pledge   A. Philip Randolph 18. Benediction   Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, President, Morehouse College. “WE SHALL OVERCOME”

Page URL:  http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=96&page=transcript

U.S. National Archives & Records Administration             700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20408 • 1-86-NARA-NARA • 1-866-272-6272

We are one week away from our trip to D.C. for the March on Washington 50th Anniversary. I am very excited, and so is the rest of our group. This week we had the honor of meeting Drew Hansen, author of The Dream. He spoke about why he chose to write a book about Martin Luther King, Jr’s speech,and what the process was like. It was amazing that he actually began with a lot of cold calls to important leaders in the civil rights movement, and that they were quite willing to share their stories. He did not come against major obstacles writing the book. He met and interviewed John Lewis, who to my knowledge is the only speaker at the 1963 March on Washington who is still living. John Lewis says of the book ˝Dr. King would be very, very proud”.

We also went over our itinerary which includes: Worship at Metropolitan Baptist Church (where Richard Smallwood is the minister of music..yay!), Gospel brunch at the Hamilton Hotel, the National American History Museum, and the MLK and FDR Memorials, and that is just DAY ONE!

˝People get ready, there’s a train a’ coming, you don’t need no baggage, you just get on board…all you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin’, you don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord.” Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, 1965