Alabama State University News August 28, 2013 ASU Students Retrace History During 50th Anniversary March on Washington By Tina Joly Cherise Peters was overcome with emotion as she boarded a subway train in the nation's capital with 23 students from ASU's Student Orientation Services. The group was headed to the starting point of the re-creation of 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Peters, ASU's associate provost and vice president for Enrollment Management, attended the original March with her father, and memories of that day flooded her mind as she prepared to retrace the footsteps of history. "I can't help but think about my dad and that day in '63. I was just a little girl, but the one thing I always remember about that day is how my dad put me on top of his shoulders so that I could see," Peters said. "My dad is in heaven now, and today he is sitting on top of my shoulders." When Peters and the student leaders arrived at the Georgetown Law Center for the start of the commemorative March, the students presented ceremonial sashes to participants of the 1963 March. As the starting time for the March drew closer, ASU students linked arms with the original March participants and led a crowd of several hundred people along the same 1.6-mile path Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other foot soldiers took in 1963, ending at the National Mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial. April McLemore, a junior from Montgomery, was bursting with enthusiasm. "I feel so blessed and grateful for this opportunity and this experience. I am so thankful that ASU leadership supported us and allowed us to come and be a part of this historic event," McLemore said. "This is just amazing. Alvini Givens, a junior from West Palm Beach, Fla., was proud to follow in her grandparents' footsteps. "This is really humbling for me. My grandparents attended the March in 1963, and now, here I am, 50 years later becoming a part of history just like them," Givens said. Once the group arrived at the Mall, they heard moving speeches from two of King's children, Bernice and Martin Luther King III. They also heard from civil rights icon Julian Bond, former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama. Kiera Daniel, a graduate assistant with S.O.S., said she never dreamed she would become a part of history and get to hear President Obama speak in person. "I have read about Dr. King and the March on Washington, but I never imagined that I would be a part of the 50th anniversary of the March. I also had a chance to see and hear President Obama ... this is a day I will never, ever forget and something I will tell my children and grandchildren about," Daniel said. Wednesday was the culmination of a whirlwind of activities for the students since arriving in the nation's capital on Sunday, August 25. The group met Martin Luther King III, facilitated a national civil rights conference and met with D.C.-area alumni, including Howard Watkins who invited the students to his home for an old-fashioned southern-style barbecue. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.