OKC Mayor David Holt speaking at 60th anniversary of March on Washington

Jana Hayes, The Oklahoman
Updated ·2 min read
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt speaks with Marilyn Luper Hildreth to a group Aug. 19 before a reenactment, including a marching from Frontline Church and a sit-in at Kaiser's Grateful Bean, in Oklahoma City for the 65th anniversary of the Oklahoma City sit-in movement.
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt speaks with Marilyn Luper Hildreth to a group Aug. 19 before a reenactment, including a marching from Frontline Church and a sit-in at Kaiser's Grateful Bean, in Oklahoma City for the 65th anniversary of the Oklahoma City sit-in movement.
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Sixty years after thousands of Americans gathered for the March on Washington and heard the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt will speak on the same steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Thousands again will gather Saturday for the 60th anniversary, in what is being called a continuation rather than commemoration of the march that called for a more equitable America.

Holt announced on X, formerly Twitter, that he had been invited to speak at the event and is honored to represent OKC and mayors.

"I think the moment certainly resonates with themes I have spoken about before, including the need to keep striving for equal opportunity and the necessity of working together to get things done," Holt told The Oklahoman. "I’m also pretty determined to ensure Clara Luper’s name is uttered on Saturday."

Connection between OKC and March on Washington

Oklahoma City civil rights activist Clara Luper brought herself and others to the March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963.

Luper led the sit-in movement that launched the desegregation of many OKC restaurants and businesses — using King's notion of nonviolent resistance — the 65th anniversary of which was commemorated nearly a week ago.

Joyce Henderson, a sit-in participant and attendee of the 1963 march, said Luper loaded them up in two buses to head to D.C. Henderson, who was 16 at the time, said she was surprised by the "thousands of people" there, and it opened her eyes to how all-encompassing the issues of segregation and racial discrimination were.

"I discovered not only did we have issues in Oklahoma City and Oklahoma, but the whole United States wanted equality for everybody," she said. "Not just for one race of people, but for everybody regardless of race, creed or color."

Clara Luper, Oklahoma educator and civil rights activist, appears in a 1988 photo.
Clara Luper, Oklahoma educator and civil rights activist, appears in a 1988 photo.

How to watch 2023 March on Washington

The main program, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, will be broadcast live on C-SPAN and starts at 10 a.m. central time.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Mayor David is speaking at the 2023 March on Washington