The State College community is invited to the 2020 Virtual March on Washington from 2-5 p.m. on Friday, an online event that looks to reflect the spirit of the original 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
The celebration will feature music, performances and short speeches that speak to the specific issues of racial justice facing the nation, with an eye to fostering and championing positive change.
This annual event is usually held in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza in downtown State College but is being held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The plaza’s planning committee schedules an annual event commemorating the 1963 March, and we had planned some special things for this year,” MLK Plaza committee member Gary Abdullah said. “Of course, the COVID-19 global pandemic has changed everything, but we chose to stage a virtual march to continue the tradition. As with the original march, we’re seeing many distinct organizations – the NAACP, Penn State’s Forum on Black Affairs, student leaders and others – come together from different perspectives to advance our common causes of racial justice and equity.”
AnneMarie Mingo, assistant professor of African American studies and women’s, gender, and sexuality Studies at Penn State, says the plaza’s localization of King and his legacy puts it in special company.
“Out of the many memorials to King around the nation and world, there are not many outside of key civil rights cities in the South — Birmingham, Atlanta, Memphis and others — that extend beyond a street name, a mural/image, or maybe a quote,” Mingo said.
“The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza in State College is intentionally designed as a gathering place where young and old can learn about local and national civil rights events and hopefully be inspired by Dr. King and look at what role they too can take in helping to make the world a more just place. It was the borough’s vision to create a space that can teach and inspire those involved in struggles today.”
The Virtual March will be streamed live at strategiesjustice.com/watchparty.
