HomeTop Story.@EmilAmok, Inquirer: Asian Americans Commemorate 50th Anniversary of March on Washington
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.@EmilAmok, Inquirer: Asian Americans Commemorate 50th Anniversary of March on Washington

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Todd EndoAsian American activist Todd Endo (photo left courtesy Amok.com) was among the tens of thousands who commemorated the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington this weekend.

Endo still has strong memories of when he walked in the original march 50 years ago along side members of the Japanese American Citizens League, a co-sponsor of the 1963 demonstration.

Emil Guillermo of Amok.com  and also AALDEF.org and AsAmNews  walked alongside Endo this weekend as he participated in the commemorative walk and talked with Endo about the impact of Martin Luther King.

“There were like six organizations that really lead the march in ’63, recalled Endo.  “His (Martin Luther King) was one. But not necessarily wasn’t the lead agency.

“The Japanese American Citizens League was the only Asian American organization that was a co-sponsor of the first march. There were 35 members that marched, and there were probably a handful of other Asians but not many.”

“The King that I remember is a later king and more recognized as the spokesperson, the one to follow. The example would be the I Have a Dream Speech actually has a life of its own that comes after the March. He gave that speech and similar speeches before that, but it wasn’t the reason that people remember the March then. It’s the reason they remember the march now. It is different. It had a life of its own.”

Among the speakers at this weekend’s rally, according to the Inquirer, was Mee Moua, president and executive director of Asian-Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC).

“We march today to remind our policy makers of the urgency of fulfilling these promises to realize our collective dream,” said Moua. “But only in coalition can we achieve these goals.”

Immigration reform was clearly on the minds of many Filipino Americans who joined in Saturday’s demonstration.

“We cannot allow the House to slow down a legislative process on a bill that had momentum earlier in the year,” says Joe Montano of Arlington, Virginia. “We have to step up our efforts to mobilize public opinion and press Congress to act now.”

  You can read the reactions of other Filipino Americans who participated in the march in the Inquirer and you can hear the entire interview with Todd Endo on Amok.com.

 

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