Religious Leaders March on National Mall for Justice, Against Trump

"My thought is, God help us. God help America," a participant who grew up in segregated Alabama said

Ministers, rabbis, imams and their congregants marched together on the National Mall on Monday to recommit to the principles Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. advanced and oppose President Donald Trump's administration.

The One Thousand Ministers March for Justice was convened on the anniversary of King's delivery of his "I Have a Dream" speech.

"As Dr. King marched for 54 years ago, we are still marching for voting rights, health care, criminal justice reform and economic justice," the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network says in information posted online.

"The Department of Justice and the current administration are undermining Dr. King's dream," organizers also said.

Martin Luther King III was among the speakers at the march. 

Clara Guyton said she thought of her childhood in segregated Alabama as she marched.

"Our brothers were not able to go to school because they had to go and pick cotton and pick pecans," she said. "I'm a sharecropper. I remember all of it."

She said she marched in celebration of how far the country has come, but also with an urgent call for progress. 

"My thought is, God help us. God help America," she said.

Sharpton said on Twitter that 3,000 religious leaders attended the rally. Thousands of participants sang and held signs, including many that said "Do justice, love mercy, march proudly."

Participants marched from the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial to the Department of Justice headquarters.

Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story.

News4’s Aaron Gilchrist caught up with the Rev. Jesse Jackson to get his thoughts on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s message.
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