Detroit Walk to Freedom facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Walk to Freedom |
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| Part of the Civil Rights Movement | |
| Date | June 23, 1963 |
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Adelaide Street, Woodward Avenue and Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan
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The Walk to Freedom was a huge march for Civil Rights that happened on June 23, 1963. It took place in Detroit, Michigan. This march brought together about 125,000 people or even more. At the time, it was called "the largest civil rights demonstration in the nation's history."
Many important leaders and ministers from local and national groups attended. The Mayor of Detroit was also there and gave a speech. One of the most famous speakers was Martin Luther King Jr.. His powerful speech at the Walk to Freedom was like a practice run for his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. He gave that speech just weeks later in Washington, D.C.. For King and his supporters, the Detroit march helped them prepare for the much larger March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Because the March on Washington was so big, the Detroit Walk to Freedom is sometimes forgotten. But at the time, Dr. King said it was "one of the most wonderful things that has happened in America."
Contents
Why the Walk to Freedom Started
Two important Civil Rights leaders, Reverend Clarence L. Franklin and Reverend Albert Cleage, came up with the idea for a big march in Detroit. Even though they had different ideas about how to fight injustice, they worked together.
They formed a group called the Detroit Council for Human Rights (DCHR). This group was in charge of organizing the Walk to Freedom. Reverend Cleage first wanted the march to be only for Black people and led by Black leaders. However, the local Detroit branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) said they would not support the march if white leaders were not included.
So, the DCHR decided to include some local white leaders. The march was open to everyone. Most of the people who came were African-American. But several important white leaders, like Jerome Cavanagh, the Mayor of Detroit, joined in. They showed their support by leading the march.
What the March Wanted to Achieve
The Walk to Freedom had two main goals. The first and most important goal was to speak out against segregation. Segregation meant keeping people of different races separate. The march also protested the harsh treatment of civil rights activists in the South. At the same time, it addressed problems faced by African Americans in northern cities like Detroit. These problems included unfair hiring, low wages, poor education, and bad housing.
The second goal of the march was to raise money and awareness for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). This group did important civil rights work in the southern states. The date chosen for the march, June 23, was special. It was the 20th anniversary of the Detroit race riot of 1943. In that riot, many people were killed and injured.
The March Day
Who Led the March
Many well-known people, both locally and nationally, led the Walk to Freedom. From the Detroit Council for Human Rights, there was Rev. C. L. Franklin. He was the father of the famous singer Aretha Franklin and chairman of the DCHR. Rev. Albert Cleage, who helped create the DCHR, also led the march. Benjamin McFall, the DCHR director, was there too.
The former Governor of Michigan, John Swainson, joined the march. He was governor from 1961 to 1962. Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanaugh and Martin Luther King Jr. also led the way. Other leaders included Walter Reuther, who was president of the United Auto Workers (UAW). Billie S. Farnum, the State Auditor General, also participated.
George Romney, who was the Governor of Michigan at the time, could not attend. The march was on a Sunday, and it conflicted with his religious practices. However, Governor Romney fully supported the march and its cause. He sent representatives to walk in his place.
The March Route
To get people excited about the Walk to Freedom, organizers spread stickers and flyers around the city. The march began around 3 PM on Woodward Avenue at Adelaide. It continued down Woodward, then turned onto Jefferson. The march ended at Cobo Arena and Hall.
People sang songs like "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and carried banners and signs. The entire march lasted about an hour and a half. After the march, many speeches were given. At least 125,000 people took part in the march. Tens of thousands more filled Cobo Arena and the area around it to listen to the speeches.
Important Speeches
Many leaders of the march gave speeches. Albert Cleage, Walter Reuther, Mayor Cavanagh, former Governor Swainson, and Congressman Charles Diggs all spoke. A representative for Governor Romney also gave a speech. But the speech everyone was most excited to hear was from Martin Luther King Jr. He gave a powerful speech, just as he always did.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech
Some parts of Dr. King's speech in Detroit were very similar to his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. This later speech was given two months later in Washington. The end of his Detroit speech, in particular, was a longer and more detailed version of the "I Have a Dream" part.
Here are some parts of both speeches, so you can see how similar they were:
| Detroit Speech (Walk to Freedom) | Washington Speech ("I Have a Dream") |
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| "Almost one hundred and one years ago, on September the 22nd, 1862, to be exact, a great and noble American, Abraham Lincoln, signed an executive order, which was to take effect on January the first, 1863. This executive order was called the Emancipation Proclamation and it served to free the Negro from the bondage of physical slavery. But one hundred years later, the Negro in the United States of America still isn't free." | "Fivescore years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation […] But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination." |
| "And so we must say, now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to transform this pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our nation. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of racial justice." | "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood." |
| "And so this afternoon, I have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream […] I have a dream that one day, right down in Georgia and Mississippi and Alabama, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to live together as brothers. I have a dream this afternoon that one day, one day little white children and little Negro children will be able to join hands as brothers and sisters […] I have a dream this afternoon that my four little children, that my four little children will not come up in the same young days that I came up within, but they will be judged on the basis of the content of their character, not the color of their skin… I have a dream this evening that one day we will recognize the words of Jefferson that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and "every valley shall be exalted, and every hill shall be made low; the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." […] And with this faith I will go out and carve a tunnel of hope through the mountain of despair. With this faith, I will go out with you and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. With this faith, we will be able to achieve this new day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing with the Negroes in the spiritual of old: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!" | "I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character […] I have a dream that one day "every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low; the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be straight; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." […] With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood… And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, 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!" |
Motown Records and Dr. King
Motown, a very popular record company at the time, wanted to record some of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches. They arranged to record King's speech after the Walk to Freedom, when everyone gathered at Cobo Arena. During the talks, King asked that any money earned from selling the recording go to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), not to him. This selfless act deeply impressed Berry Gordy, who founded Motown and was negotiating with King.
Different Names for the March
Governor George Romney officially called the day of the Walk to Freedom "Freedom March Day in Michigan." The march has been known by several different names. In Detroit, people sometimes called it "King’s Walk on Woodward" or "the Great March."
Other names used for the event include "Walk to Freedom March," "Great March/Walk to Freedom," "Walk for/to Freedom," "Detroit Freedom Walk/March," and "Great March on Detroit."
After the March
Even though Governor Romney sent representatives to the Walk to Freedom, he wanted to do more. A few days after the march, he joined hundreds of people in Grosse Pointe. This was a rich suburb of Detroit. They walked together to support civil rights. Governor Romney was also involved in other marches and events in Michigan. He knew Martin Luther King well.
However, the Walk to Freedom did not have as big an impact on Detroit and civil rights as the March on Washington did. The Detroit Council for Human Rights (DCHR) did not last very long. The DCHR tried to start a Northern Christian Leadership Conference. This would have been a partner to the SCLC. But disagreements, especially between Franklin and Cleage, stopped the idea from happening. Albert Cleage eventually left the DCHR, and other differences caused the DCHR to break up.
Remembering the March
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Walk to Freedom, another walk was held on June 22, 2013. The Detroit branch of the NAACP and the United Auto Workers organized it. The event was called "We Shall Not Default On Our Freedom!" Thousands of people participated, including Martin Luther King III (Dr. King's son). Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were also there.
Unlike the 1963 walk, which ended indoors, the 2013 version finished at Hart Plaza. Wendell Anthony, the Detroit NAACP President, said the march showed that "the work for freedom and justice must continue" in Detroit and around the world.
