WASHINGTON — Many people are planning to attend the Get Your Knee Off Our Necks March on Washington on Aug. 28. The march is planned on the 57th anniversary of the historic 1963 march.
Herbert Wilson IV says he wouldn’t miss it. For him, it feels like history is repeating itself.
“They were marching for voting rights, which is a basic human right,” Wilson said he can’t miss this moment in history.
He originally learned about the March on Washington from his mother as a child and noticed parallels in time as an adult.
“Now you fast forward today, we're still marching on Washington, for basic human rights which is humanity, equal justice under the law, and decency,” Wilson added.
Wilson said he’s motivated to attend also by the tragic and painful losses of men and women who look like him.
“As a Black man in the United States, I have to be very cognizant of the things that I do on a day to day basis. Any mistake I make, or any false accusation against me can cost me my basic human right--which is the right to life," said Wilson when referencing the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
At the march, Wilson said, he’ll be taking a stance for those who’ve paid the ultimate price for him to be able to march.
“My family can trace back it’s lineage, to a slave named Solomon, which is seven generations back, so I'll be marching for everyone," said Wilson. "From then until now and then also for generations to come, so that way I can teach my children about African American History and be a part of it.”