{"id":418135,"date":"2026-01-20T06:01:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T06:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/418135\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T06:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T06:01:10","slug":"in-san-antonio-the-nations-largest-mlk-march-takes-on-added-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/418135\/","title":{"rendered":"In San Antonio, the nation’s largest MLK march takes on added meaning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for\u00a0TPR Today<\/a>, Texas Public Radio’s newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.<\/p>\n

San Antonio, a city where Black residents make up just about 7% of the population, marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day with an annual march that\u2019s grown from humble origins into one of the country\u2019s largest. Hundreds of thousands marched nearly three miles on the East Side of San Antonio on Monday to honor Dr. King\u2019s life and legacy.<\/p>\n

The first march<\/a> took place in 1968, just days after King\u2019s assassination. Organized by Reverend Raymond Aaron Callies Sr., it drew just 10 people, who walked about a mile and a half from Trinity Baptist Church to what is now the Martin Luther King Plaza, where they laid a wreath in his honor.<\/p>\n

Over time, the march took on added significance for San Antonio\u2019s East Side. Rev. Callies continued the event as a way to draw attention to neighborhood needs in an area where most residents are Black or African American. The city eventually began supporting the march, and after nearly four decades of city backing, it now honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. while also advocating for broader civil rights.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s theme was \u201cDiversity unites us, love leads us, and action propels us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0responsibilty sign MLK-1.jpg\n <\/p>\n

People came out to the march despite the chilly weather in the morning.<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR<\/p>\n

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Other civil rights activists like Rosa Parks were commemorated alongside MLK during the march.<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR <\/p>\n

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The MLK march is an opportunity for people to practice MLK’s nonviolent act of protest. <\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR<\/p>\n

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Marchers at the MLK march in San Antonio, TX <\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR <\/p>\n

The march itself was loud and lively. Participants walked, biked, and roller skated along the route. Music blasted every few blocks, as marchers danced and carried signs quoting King\u2019s words.<\/p>\n

March attendee Kristina Welzien rode the VIA bus with her eight-year-old son, his friend, and his friend’s mom to be dropped off near the start of the march at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n

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VIA helped transport thousands of people attending the MLK march.<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Mlk bus wide shot-1.jpg\n <\/p>\n

A line of VIA buses line up to transport marchers.<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0kristina and son-1.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Kristina Welzien and her son attend their first MLK march. <\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR <\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0bus drop off-1.jpg\n <\/p>\n

VIA busses drop off riders near the MLK freedom bridge to start the march at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son was actually born in Uganda, and so this walk is very special to me,\u201d Welzien said. \u201cAnd if it weren’t for fighters like MLK, our sons wouldn’t be able to be friends, and they wouldn’t be in school together. And times are really scary. And just, you know, grateful for the good people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bexar County Buffalo Soldiers were among the many groups taking part. Their president, Larry Carter, said the march is a reminder of national unity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows that we are still together \u2014 that Washington doesn\u2019t run the whole country. The people run the country. Simple as that,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Buffalo soldiers-1.jpg\n <\/p>\n

The Bexar County Buffalo Soldiers attend the MLK March year after year in full attire.<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR <\/p>\n

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Horseback rider waits for the march to start.<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR<\/p>\n

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Two community members pose to show off their t-shirts featuring MLK and other civil rights leaders including Malcom X.<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR<\/p>\n

Those who didn\u2019t march lined the route to cheer on participants. Norma Crawford stood with a group from Message Church, handing out bottled water from a delivery truck. Within the first hour, they had already given out more than 20 cases. Crawford said she was there using language popularized during the Trump campaign to describe her view of the country\u2019s ideals.<\/p>\n

\u201c(I am here to) make America great again. His \u2018make America great\u2019, not the one they got now,\u201d Crawford said. “(King) had a dream that all people are created and treated the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kenneth Bell has attended the march with his twin sister, Karen Leija, since they were children. He said their parents taught them the importance of honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s roots and legacy within the Black community \u2014 and of remembering the rights King fought for.<\/p>\n

Bell said losing sight of that history risks losing hard-won progress.<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0twins MLK-1.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Kenneth Bell and Karen Laija are twins who have been attending the MLK march since they were kids.<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR<\/p>\n

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Community organizations such as Moms Demand Action joined the march.<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0MLK Anti MAGA-1.jpg\n <\/p>\n

MLK marchers amplified their desire for peace in the country. <\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Mlk head cutout-1.jpg\n <\/p>\n

People brought unique signs to celebrate MLK’s legacy.<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Immigration sign MLK-1.jpg\n <\/p>\n

The two and a half mile march starts at the Martin Luther King Junior Academy and ends at Pittman-Sullivan park.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR<\/p>\n

\u201cEquity and inclusion, that’s the roots of everything. And in the Black community, we’re still not a majority. We are a minority. And if we forget about equity inclusion, we’re generally the first ones to get left behind,\u201d Bell said. \u201cWhen you look at moving forward with generations, I have kids, I want to see them grow up in a world where they don’t have to worry about the things I had to worry about. As I didn’t have to worry about the things that my parents had to worry about. And it should keep getting better and better. If that happens, it gets better for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

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St. Philip’s college marched together at the MLK march wearing blue and spelling out education. <\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Trinity MLk-1.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Trinity University brings students to the MLK march every year.<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera \/ TPR<\/p>\n

Many schools such as Trinity University, St. Phillips College, and San Antonio Community College took part in the march. Student Sarah Sanchez was there with Alamo Colleges. She lives in New Braunfels and made sure to drive down for the march.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis march matters to me to show the community that we are really here, that we understand, and that we are here to support one another,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n

Organizations such as the Students of Service were there as well. Josh Duelm had been to the MLK march several times over the years, but this was his first time as an employee of Students of Service, a nonprofit that fosters youth civic engagement. <\/p>\n

\u201cI’m out here today to show my support for freedom and my love for San Antonio. I think the march is great because it’s inclusive of everyone,\u201d Duelm said. “It lifts up all of our voices, and we’re stronger together, and we need that in this time of division. As MLK said, \u2018only light can drive out darkness.'”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for\u00a0TPR Today, Texas Public Radio’s newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":418136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-418135","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-united-states-of-america","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}