SubscribeDespite minor disagreements, it was in 1978 that about fifty community members came together to broaden the scope of the March, and began what has since become one of the largest marches in the United States. This initial group of people saw the March as a ”March,” and not a parade. These fifty people marched from Martin Luther King Middle School to the place where the MLK statue now stands. Rosa Parks attended one of the Marches in the 1990s. She was honored on the street where she spoke by naming Houston Street “Rosa Parks Way.” The March was to become a vehicle to continue the legacy of the King movement by honoring him through addressing the current problems of the day, which included discrimination, poverty, unemployment, war, and other social issues.
Many of the original fifty people involved in the initial march included Rev. R.A. Callies and family, Corine Duncan, T.C. Calvert, Bettye Roberts, Rick Greene, Mario Marcel Salas, Rev. C.C. Houston, Lillian Sutton Taylor, Webb Boyd, Rev. Christopher Griffin, Vashon Byrd, Jessie Mae Hicks, Bobby Roberts, George Clark, John Stanford, John Inman, Charles Middleton, John Allen, William Boyd, and many others, including former members of the local chapters of SNCC, members of the NAACP, and ROBBED organizations. The march received very little press coverage initially, but the marchers marched in all types of weather. In the early 1990s one such march involved freezing temperatures and sleet. Committee members TC Calvert and Mario Salas. and former Precinct 4 Constable, Matthew Marshall, stayed up all night in freezing weather, and in their cars, guarding the stage from threats of vandalism by anonymous phone callers.
Many of those who participated in the initial march were NAACP members and former SNCC members who went on to establish Frontline 2000, a civil and human right organization. This group spearheaded the demand for a Martin Luther King, Jr. state holiday by traveling to Austin, Texas, in 1991, and meeting with then speaker of the Texas House, Gib Lewis. Under the threat of a Texas tourist boycott, against the City of Houston’s bid for a Super Bowl, Rick Greene, Mario Salas, and Frontline 2000 leadership pressured the Speaker of the Texas House, then Gib Lewis, to demand that Legislator Pete Laney move the bill forward. The Speaker relented and moved the bill forward. It became law in 1991 despite some statewide opposition.
With this victory in hand, the March grew larger and larger, eventually attracting tens of thousands. In 1990 and 1991, the march attracted over 15,000 participants. Today, the March attracts over 70,000 participants. Additionally, the March has taken on international issues by demanding freedom for Nelson Mandela in South Africa and an end to the Iraq War. The March Committee has had many chairpersons across the decades, but has maintained the diversity that King espoused by having women, and various ethnic representations as committee chairpersons. The Martin Luther King March Committee has taken on working class issues, as King did with the sanitation workers, and over the years continues to invite all segments of society to address their issues as they honor Dr. King on his birthday.
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:49 PM on January 10, 2007