Reflecting on the 61st anniversary of the March on Washington

BALTIMORE — It’s been 61 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington.

It’s a day cemented in the history books.

On August 28th, 1963 more than 250,000 people gathered in Washington D.C. for the March on Washington.

Rev. Douglas Sands, who leads a church in Carroll County, volunteered to be a marshal to ensure there was peace and order.

“One of the things that impressed me was to see so many banners that had good messages on them and identifying people from where they came. They brought their banners with them,” said Rev. Sands.

Rev. Sands says he was impressed by the words of Dr. King when he gave his speech.

“He stayed on message to continue to bring everybody on board who was listening to him to tell the truth about matters and to give some direction to go in,” said Rev. Sands.

Pikesville resident Roland Patterson Jr. was only a child during the march, but both of his parents traveled from New York City to be there.

Men and women of all backgrounds, certainly of our background, African American, traveled across the land, across the nation, bus, car, hitchhike because it was that important,” said Patterson.

Patterson says his mom and dad grew up in the Jim Crow era. His parents shared with him the importance of being at the march and the overall significance of the Civil Rights Act that was passed in 1964.

“The March on Washington being the catalytic event for the act made it a seminole event. So, whenever we were having a larger discussion, there would be reference back to the march,” said Patterson.

Patterson believes progress has been made in accomplishing Dr. King’s dream.

As evident with the Democratic nomination of Kamala Harris for president, but believes there’s still more work that needs to be done.

“There’s still institutional racism at large in the country today,” said Patterson.

While Rev. Sands believes Dr. King’s dream has become a reality.

“It has come true beyond what he expressed about the dream, said Rev. Sands.

Both Rev. Sands and Patterson are active with civil rights.

Patterson is a member of the Baltimore County NAACP.

Rev. Sands, who is 90, has been involved with civil rights since he was a college student at Morgan College, now known as Morgan State University.