I want those of you who read this REMEMBER THIS. It may be important to you someday. When we have met in FREEDOM PLAZA in Washington DC, we meet in FREEDOM PLAZA for a reason. It is not just a “park.” It is a home to hero after hero in America’s nation, men and women, and all races, religions, and identity groups.
Heroes like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who worked on his “I Have a Dream Speech” nearby. Dr. King’s robe, Bible, and relics are in a time-capsule at Freedom Plaza.
On the night of November 18, 1861, Julia Ward Howe stayed nearby Freedom Plaza and awoke with the words of the song in her mind and in near darkness wrote the verses to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
Freedom Plaza was where I have stood in campaigns with thousands of freedom activists for the Chinese and Vietnamese people.
Freedom Plaza Rally Speakers for China Freedom (Photo: AFP)
It is in Freedom Plaza where we have had rallies for the Constitution Equality of all women under the Equal Rights Amendment.
Freedom Plaza: Equal Rights Amendment Campaign for the Constitutional Equality of Women
At the height of the Anti-Muslim hate campaign on 9/11/2011, it is where we have had rallies for respect for religious freedom for Muslim Americans and all Americans.
It is where Mohamed Yahya and others jointly remembered the attacks on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the death of Stephen Tyrone Johns, while white supremacists sought to shout us down.
It is where so many rallies for freedom and justice began, including December’s #BlackLivesMatter march to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Capitol.
To those who think it is just a stretch of concrete, I want to let you know, it is not.
It is a home to courageous stand after stand for freedom in our nation and around the world.
Remember.