BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A march is planned for Friday in Washington D.C. on the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I have a dream” speech. Friday's event is called the Commitment March: “Get your knees off our necks,” hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton.
In Bellingham, activists held their own “Get your knees off our necks” march on Thursday.
It started at the Cornwall Rose Garden and moved to City Hall and the Whatcom County Courthouse, where speeches were given.
One of the most poignant moments of the event came from a 12-year-old boy named Myles McLin. He is about to enter seventh grade in the middle of a modern civil rights movement.
"I think that our lives, for Black people, have been taken away and they need to be shown and you know, presented out,” he said.
McLin delivered Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech to the crowd of a few hundred people.
"I feel like I accomplished something, I feel like I did something that needed to be done and that still needs to be done,” he explained after his speech.
Event organizer Kristina Michele said she felt it was important to hold their own version of the march in Whatcom County.
"If you're going to make change, you might as well start at home, with your neighbors,” she said.
Michele is the host of the radio show Mission Accomplished? on KPNW-DB Radio, where she discusses hot button issues happening in society.
She moved to Bellingham from San Diego a few years ago and immediately got involved in community activism, wanting to create more of a dialog around racial injustice in Whatcom County.
"We just need to open a conversation. We need you to not look at us and feel fear. We need you not look at us and feel hate. We need you to not look at us and feel threatened. We are just human beings,” she said.
Myles McLin hopes the march is a step toward a better future.
"We are sending a strong message that we want peace, we want fair, we want equality,” he said.