BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Many things have changed across 6 decades, and today we remember the day 60 years ago when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the base of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. and delivered what's widely known as the "I Have A Dream" speech.
A few years prior to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, in February of 1960, Dr. King led a peaceful march from Lowell Park to Harvey Auditorium at Bakersfield High where he was scheduled to speak.
Though the history of that day may be fading, King's message has not.
"Wherever King spoke and wherever he went, the message was the same. It was nonviolence," said Dr. Tracey Salisbury, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies at California State University Bakersfield. "They wanted equality for all. The message is that to be a successful country, we have to be a country that works together."
Today, 60 years removed from Dr. King's speech and nearly 60 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, a lot has changed for the Black community, including right here in Bakersfield, according to Michael Bowers, Vice President of Public Affairs for Centric Health.
"We put men on the moon that are African-American. We've had an African-American president. Women who couldn't speak before are not CEOs of corporate boardrooms and they are running businesses," said Bowers. "And they're the mayors of Bakersfield now, and also they are the district attorneys of Bakersfield. And so we have made some strides and moving forward."
And though there has been progress, many, including Pastor Josephate Jordan of First Christ Ministries, say there's still progress to be made.
"I think that we need to understand that we're all humans. Dr. King's dream wasn't that Black people could ride the bus, but that Black people can be equal. We simply want a shot. A shot. A chance to see that we can," said Pastor Jordan. "Those that can't or don't want to? That's on them. But everybody is not able to pull themselves by their bootstraps because everybody don't have boots."
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