- Omaha native Pat Brown, whose grandparents hosted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during his visits to Omaha, joined neighbors to recite his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech.
- Great Plains Black History Museum Board President Portia Cavitt urged community members to register to vote and make their voices heard.
- The event reflected the enduring relevance of the March on Washington, with neighbors gathering to recite the speech and reflect on what equity and justice still mean today.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Neighbors gathered at the Great Plains Black History Museum to celebrate the 63rd anniversary of the March on Washington, reciting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "I Have a Dream" speech and reflecting on the civil rights movement's enduring legacy.
One by one, community members stepped up to the microphone to recite the speech.
"I have a dream that one day, in the Red Hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves, and the sons of former slave owners, will be able to sit down together."
Among those taking part was Omaha native Pat Brown, whose grandparents hosted Dr. King during one of his visits to Omaha, giving her family a personal connection to the civil rights leader.
"It was an honor to have him in the house. Like I said, it was just thrilling, and to hear them talk, 'cause naturally, we heard them on television, but not to that length," Brown said.
The 1963 March on Washington was a defining moment in the fight for civil rights and economic justice. Attendees reflected on what the speech continues to mean today.
"When I hear this speech, it reminds me of how across class differences, and across race differences, Dr. King was able to give a message of what it looked like, if we could get past oppression and get to a place of equity for our people."
While celebrating the progress made since the civil rights movement, neighbors also reflected on the work that still remains. Great Plains Black History Museum Board President Portia Cavitt called on community members to take action.
"It takes individual people to wake up and to bring about the change that we need. So we got to lift our voices. We got to come together and to stand, and even if you are not registered to vote, you need to register. You need to get out to vote, just to register, and not to cash your ballot, or to lift your voice, is a slap in the face," Cavitt said.
Brown said the conversations she heard around her family's dinner table inspired her lifelong commitment to advocating for her community.
"Was just a pleasure and an honor, and I held that gear all my life," Brown said.
The event closed with the speech's celebrated final words.
"Black men, and white men, Jews, and Jet Stiles, Protestants, and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual. Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty We are free at last."
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