{"id":1160945,"date":"2022-01-19T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-19T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/?p=1160945"},"modified":"2022-01-19T19:14:01","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T00:14:01","slug":"on-king-holiday-hundreds-walk-for-voting-rights-and-d-c-statehood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/on-king-holiday-hundreds-walk-for-voting-rights-and-d-c-statehood\/","title":{"rendered":"On King Holiday, Hundreds Walk for Voting Rights and D.C. Statehood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hundreds of people participated in a Peace Walk in Ward 8 with the family of Martin Luther King III on Jan. 17, the official holiday of his father, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to call on the U.S. Senate to pass voting rights and D.C. statehood legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am out here today with my sorors of Zeta Phi Beta, 40 of us strong, to say that voting is the answer to many of our country\u2019s problems,\u201d said Alisha McLeish, a member of the sorority and the MLK Holiday DC committee that served as the prime sponsor of the 16th<\/sup> Annual Peace Walk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want the Senate and the White House to work together to pass voting rights legislation and D.C. statehood,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two voting rights bills, The Freedom to Vote Act of 2021 and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021, as well as The Washington, D.C. Admission Act of 2021, remain stalled in the Senate, unable to move forward due to a tactic known as the filibuster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A filibuster holds up a bill for floor consideration by a senator or senators and it takes 60 votes to break it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

King, along with his wife, Arndrea Waters and 13-year-old daughter, Yolanda Renee, came to Washington to say his father\u2019s holiday should not be celebrated. Instead, efforts should be intensified to see the filibuster suspended so that the voting rights and D.C. statehood bills will be considered by the Senate. The Kings also want President Biden to use his power to see that the bills move. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The usual parade which occurs on King\u2019s holiday did not take place due to the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Peace Walk<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the walkers gathered on the grounds of Nationals Stadium near Potomac Avenue SE, a new part of Ward 8, the result of recent redistricting.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The walkers listened to speakers including Stuart Anderson and Denise Rolark Barnes, co-chairs of the MLK Holiday Committee, and Jamal Holtz, lead organizer of 51 for 51, a pro-statehood organization aimed at persuading the Senate to eliminate or suspend the filibuster for consideration of the D.C. statehood bill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The King family immediately took the podium when they arrived. Yolanda, despite her young age, expressed optimism about the bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to have faith and hope,\u201d she said. \u201cWe will get these bills passed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The King family joined Rolark Barnes, D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) and others at the front of the line, positioning themselves on Potomac Avenue. The procession moved briskly before embarking upon the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. As the walkers continued, they soon reached Martin Luther King Jr., Avenue before concluding their two-mile walk on Good Hope Road in Southeast.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to McDuffie, Council members Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), Robert White (D-At Large) and Trayon White (D-Ward 8) participated in the Peace Walk. Both Whites count as candidates for the Democratic nomination for mayor on June 21.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayor Muriel Bowser did not participate in the Peace Walk but did speak during a news conference, organized by Martin Luther King III at Union Station.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenny Tang, sporting a Green Bay Packers cap and carrying a sign calling for voting rights, said she personally walked to \u201cdeliver Martin Luther King\u2019s legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hundreds of people participated in a Peace Walk in Ward 8 with the family of Martin Luther King III on Jan. 17, the official holiday of his father, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to call on the U.S. Senate to pass voting rights and D.C. statehood legislation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2340,"featured_media":1160946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_primary_brand":0,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","nota_seo_page_title":"","nota_seo_page_description":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"small","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30851,30817],"tags":[55895,46491,35365,46992,35882,21639],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"nota":[],"coauthors":[53513],"class_list":["post-1160945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-black-experience","category-community","tag-d-c-2","tag-james-wright","tag-martin-luther-king-jr-day","tag-martin-luther-king-jr-peace-walk-parade","tag-martin-luther-king-jr-","tag-ward-8","entry"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nOn King Holiday, Hundreds Walk for Voting Rights and D.C. 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Statehood Activists Support MLK Peace Walk","author":"James Wright Jr.","date":"January 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Activists and leaders for D.C. statehood support and plan to participate in the 16th annual Peace Walk that will take place in Ward 8 on Jan. 17, the day the country officially celebrates the birthday and life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., despite their cause not being central to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Community"","block_context":{"text":"Community","link":"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/category\/community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"**FILE** Protesters gather at the White House to bring attention to voting rights, voter suppression and D.C. statehood. 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(Robert R. Roberts\/ The Washington Informer)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/image-20.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/image-20.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/image-20.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/image-20.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/image-20.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1160899,"url":"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/mlk-holiday-dc\/","url_meta":{"origin":1160945,"position":2},"title":"National, Local Leaders March in D.C. for Voting Rights on King Holiday","author":"Shevry Lassiter","date":"January 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"MLK Holiday events focus on voting rights and Change Happens with Good Hope and a Dream","rel":"","context":"In "DC Statehood"","block_context":{"text":"DC Statehood","link":"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/category\/dc-statehood\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/DSF1529-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/DSF1529-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/DSF1529-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/DSF1529-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/DSF1529-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1159778,"url":"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/morial-king-family-and-justice-organizations-urge-no-mlk-day-celebration-without-voting-rights-legislation\/","url_meta":{"origin":1160945,"position":3},"title":"MORIAL: King Family and Justice Organizations Urge: No MLK Day Celebration Without Voting Rights Legislation","author":"WI Guest Author","date":"December 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"President Biden and members of Congress can no longer stand by and allow American democracy to crumble.","rel":"","context":"In "Marc Morial"","block_context":{"text":"Marc Morial","link":"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/category\/columnists\/marc-morial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Martin Luther King III, with his wife Andrea and daughter Yolanda march with Rev. Al Sharpton, Rep. U.S. Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee (D-Texas, 18th District), and U.S. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas, 9th District) during the March on Washington for Voting Rights in northwest D.C. on Aug. 28. (Roy Lewis\/The Washington Informer)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/image-7-1.jpg?fit=500%2C301&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":93769,"url":"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/peace-walk-parade-to-carry-on-mlk-legacy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1160945,"position":4},"title":"Peace Walk, Parade to Carry on MLK Legacy","author":"Sam Plo Kwia Collins Jr.","date":"January 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This month, members of the Ward 8 community will celebrate the Rev. 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