Thousands gathered on the East Side Monday morning for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. March.
San Antonio’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. March, which honors King’s life and legacy, is touted as the largest in the nation.
The nearly 3-mile route march began at 10 a.m. Monday at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy.
39th annual MLK March begins in San Antonio
Shortly after the march began, KSAT met with former MLK Commission Chair Dwayne Robinson, who spoke to the march’s cultural significance and the educational lessons it can provide.
Near the beginning of the march’s line were City of San Antonio garbage trucks, which Robinson said were meant to signify King’s trip to Memphis in February 1968 to support the sanitation workers’ strike.
A marcher with a sign during San Antonio’s 39th annual MLK March on Monday, Jan. 19. (KSAT)Pre-march festivities
Just before 8 a.m., KSAT’s Patty Santos and photojournalist Santiago Esparza met with singers from NEMI House of Glory, who previewed some of the march’s opening ceremony festivities.
Several gatherings and events were held in the days leading up to the MLK March, including DreamWeek San Antonio programming.
Community groups and city leaders gathered Sunday afternoon at Martin Luther King Plaza at the intersection of North New Braunfels Avenue and East Houston Street.
>> Annual wreath-laying ceremony to honor Martin Luther King Jr. held on East Side
On Saturday, more than 100 bicyclists gathered for the inaugural “Freedom Ride” at MLK Park for the event.
The ride had four, eight and 15-mile routes to Southside Lions Park and back to MLK Park. A less-than-half-mile Freedom Loop route that went through MLK Park.
Black Girls Do Bike: San Antonio and Ghisallo Cycling Initiative collaborated to host the ride event ahead of the march.
KSAT reporter Garrett Brnger and photojournalist Azian Bermea spoke with three sorority sisters who have attended the march nearly every year.
The pair also spoke with a first-time march attendee, who described what brought him and his family out.
Moments before the march kicked off, Brnger spoke with District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, who described the significance of the march to San Antonio’s East Side.
March begins at MLK Academy; School to be demolished for new campus
Monday marks the end of an era for the Martin Luther King Academy in San Antonio.
The school is set to be demolished to make way for a new campus.
But the upcoming changes to the school will completely transform the building’s physical look, unlike how it has been known for decades. A black mesh-covered construction fence is already up ahead of the demolition.
The building, constructed in the 1950s, was initially named James Whitcomb Riley Elementary-Junior High School, according to the San Antonio Independent School District’s website. That name remained until the 1980s.
The Reverend Raymond A. Callies, a community activist and an early architect of San Antonio’s MLK March, helped lobby for the name change to the MLK Academy.
The new MLK Academy has been described as a state-of-the-art campus for art integration with laboratories, a new gym, playgrounds, a library, and an auditorium.
Construction is being funded by the district’s 2020 bond, approved by voters.
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