In the News

by Sabrina Eaton, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Thousands of civil rights advocates rallied Wednesday at the Lincoln Memorial to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1963 civil rights march led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

This year's headline speakers included President Barack Obama as well as Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge, who leads the Congressional Black Caucus.

"Dr. King was not just a dreamer, but the voice of a movement," Fudge said in a speech that called on Congress to pass legislation to ensure adequate jobs, education and food for all. "In Dr. King's words, 'we cannot and we must not be satisfied with anything less.' "

Fudge, who also spoke at Saturday's civil rights rally in Washington, D.C., returned to Cleveland immediately after her speech to attend an event sponsored by the Urban League of Greater Cleveland. On Tuesday, she attended a White House reception with President Obama for civil rights leaders.

In an interview before delivering her speech, Fudge said the large numbers of people in poverty today show there's still a long way to go before equality is achieved. She said the level of political partisanship in Congress makes it a challenge to move legislation forward.

"We've come to the point where the gap between the haves and have-nots is so great that people aren't able to see the other side," she said.

Many people from the Cleveland area endured the rain to participate in a civil rights march before the rally. Macedonia accountant Elizabeth Jones said she was there to express her concerns about jobs and education.
"We're losing ground," said Jones. "I have friends who have done all the right things -- they've gone to school, they've made the sacrifices, they're raising their children. They're losing their jobs, they can't find good schools for their children to go to."

Retired social worker Annie Sowell of Cleveland said she was disappointed that affirmative action had been "lost, and now we are fighting to make sure people of color can vote."

"It’s crazy that we are still fighting this old fight," she said.

Maple Heights social worker Jennifer Johnson, and her husband, Marlon, a pastor, brought their 18-month-old daughter, Serenity, to the march in a stroller stuffed with pretzel treats. As an interracial couple, they said life is different for them now than it would have been fifty years ago.

"But we still have a long way to go," Jennifer Johnson said, adding that issues like racial profiling are among challenges that still must be addressed.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2013/08/rep_marcia_fudge_addresses_civ.html#incart_river