UAW Marched for MLK!
For the first time in recent history, an all-UAW
contingent marched proudly together in the Dallas Martin Luther King parade on
January 17. Local 848’s Civil Rights Committee organized the group and received
support from Locals 276, 816 and 870. Among our members participating were: Jay
Dunn, Joe Gomez, and Johnnie Haggerty. Gene Lantz was in a mixed contingent
with union and community groups.
Every year in Dallas, there are more marchers
demanding a continuation of Dr. King’s “dreams” of peace and justice, but the
big event remains basically a parade that celebrates the victories of the past.
Other cities have marches in the true tradition of the civil rights movement.
Austin reported 10,000 marchers who heard State Representative Dawnna Duke,
Congressman Lloyd Doggett, and other speakers exhort the crowd to vote. They
said that minority voting rights were being chopped in Texas.
San Antonio’s annual community-based marched drew
over 60,000 this year. In all the big civil rights events, voter registration
was a prominent feature.
