As the nation pauses each January to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it’s worth remembering that some of his most powerful moments unfolded not in Washington, but months earlier in the heart of Detroit. In June of 1963, more than 100,000 people filled Woodward Avenue for what became the largest civil rights demonstration in the country at that time — the Walk to Freedom.
Witnesses recall the streets packed shoulder-to-shoulder, a peaceful sea of people marching for equality, justice, and dignity. The march spotlighted discrimination in housing, education, employment, and policing — issues Dr. King addressed head-on when the crowd gathered at Cobo Hall.