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U.S. NEWS A5
Tuesday 19 January 2016
Confederate flag’s absence celebrated on King Day
Continued from Front income residents. Doris Gray sits with a program during the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday commemorative
About 1,000 people gath- service at Ebenezer Baptist Church where King preached, Monday, Jan. 18, 2016, in Atlanta.
“I always had faith it would ered at the Statehouse on
come down. I hate it took a clear, cold day, drawn in (AP Photo/David Goldman)
what it did, but was real part by appearances by
happy to see it go.” all three main Democratic capped more than a week ago and described seeing mortar,” Castro said.
Across the country, the presidential candidates — of events under the theme: “a daily battle against de- In Minneapolis, activists
30th anniversary of the former Secretary of State “Remember! Celebrate! pression and hopelessness” with the group Black Lives
holiday to honor the civil Hillary Clinton, Vermont Act! King’s Legacy of Free- as babies were attacked Matter planned to march
rights leader assassinated Sen. Bernie Sanders and dom for Our World.” by rats and children wore onto a Mississippi River
in 1968, was remembered former Maryland Gov. Mar- While people have been clothes too thin to protect bridge that connects Min-
in different ways. In Michi- tin O’Malley. distracted by TV real- against the Midwest winter. neapolis and St. Paul to
gan, people delivered bot- Sanders reminded the ity shows and music “that “You see, Dr. King knew protest what they say is the
tled water to residents of crowd King was a dynamic tears down instead of up- that housing was more mistreatment of blacks by
Flint amid the city’s drink- leader who wanted to help lifts,” many injustices have than about just bricks and police.q
ing water crisis. In Atlanta, the poor. O’Malley said occurred and “we’re
an overflow crowd listened King would be ashamed about to create right here
as to the U.S. housing sec- his county has made it in this civilized society the
retary talk about the 50th harder to vote and easier wild, wild west with guns,”
anniversary of King’s visit to buy a gun. said King’s daughter, the
to Chicago to launch a Only Clinton dealt directly Rev. Bernice King.
campaign for fair hous- with the flag. She credited “Y’all, we can’t keep be-
ing. In Minnesota, a rally Haley and the Republi- ing distracted, because if
against police brutality cans with working with the you’re not careful, we’re
was planned. NAACP after the church about to allow a reality
Lonnie Randolph, presi- shooting and choosing show host to bully himself
dent of the South Carolina King’s legacy over hatred. into becoming president of
chapter of the NAACP, a “We couldn’t celebrate the United States of Amer-
leading civil rights group, him and the Confedera- ica,” she said, in a refer-
said the flag’s removal cy. We had to choose,” ence to Republican presi-
was tangible evidence Clinton said. “And South dential front-runner Donald
the state cares about civil Carolina made the right Trump.
rights when pushed hard choice.” U.S. Secretary of Housing
enough. But he warned In the U.S., President and Urban Development
there would be other fights Barack Obama and first Secretary Julian Castro
ahead. lady Michelle Obama fol- told the church audience
“I promise you, the people lowed the King Day theme that King moved into a
that gather in this building of community service by Chicago apartment on
— your building — will do planting vegetable seeds the city’s west side 50 years
something this year to cau- at a District of Columbia el-
seus to return to insure free- ementary school to honor
dom, justice and equality is the civil rights leader and
made possible for all peo- celebrate Mrs. Obama’s
ple,” Randolph said, mo- anti-childhood obesity ini-
tioning toward the capitol tiative.
behind him. They also stuffed bags with
Randolph promised to books for needy children
keep coming to the State- along with young people
house until King’s dream who participate in a White
is fully realized in a state House mentoring program
where there are wide gaps and volunteers from the
in education achievement AmeriCorps national ser-
between school districts vice program.
in rich, white communities Elsewhere, an overflow
and poorer, black ones, crowd showed up at Eb-
and where the governor enezer Baptist Church in
and Republican-dominat- Atlanta, where King once
ed Legislature have re- preached, to celebrate
fused to take federal mon- his legacy at an annual
ey to expand health care commemorative service. It
coverage to more lower-
