DETROIT – It’s one thing to read stories about the Detroit Walk to Freedom in 1963; it’s another to hear the stories first-hand from the people who were there.
Dorothy Dewberry-Aldridge was 22 years old and already very much involved in the civil rights movement.
“The sun was shining,” said Dewberry-Aldridge. “It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky.”
Reverend Nicholas Hood III was 12.
“If you look at that picture, we were holding hands, and we’re singing songs, songs of freedom, songs of justice, songs of equality,” said Hood III.
Reverend Horace Sheffield III was only eight but wise beyond his years with a father involved in the movement.
“I remember hearing Dr. King deliver the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech first,” Sheffield III. “Of course, he tuned it up later. And I remember the impact and effect it had on me.”
The Detroit Walk to Freedom was held on June 23, 1963, marking the 20th anniversary of the 1943 Detroit Race Riot, sparked by a fight between white and Black youth on Belle Isle.
The Walk to Freedom set out to be a call for change.
Black Americans faced discrimination not only in the South but also in the urban North, including Detroit.
“Everyone knew we had serious things to address,” Dewberry-Aldridge said. “The issues of the day at that time were housing, schools, and of course jobs, and always police harassment.”
In the weeks leading up to the march, many, including some Black Detroiters, believed it wasn’t the right move.
Sheffield’s father, who was involved in the labor movement, along with Hood’s father, pressed on.
“It became apparent that the march was going to be really successful and not just successful, but important in a way where pastors and other churches would want to be a part of it,” Hood said. “And so it grew in steam.”
An estimated 125,000 people attended the march. But to those who were there, it felt much more significant.
“That was really gratifying that our people turned out like that,” Dewberry-Aldridge said.
Hood recalls he and his fellow church members lined up at Woodward Avenue and Alexandrine Street.
“We waited for the marshals who were on the street,” Hood said. “They beckoned us the come in.”
They made their way down Woodward Avenue to what was then Cobo Arena.
Only about 20,000 people could fit inside to hear the powerful speech of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Others listened from outside.
He mesmerized Detroiters with a preview before his “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington later that summer.
“I really believe I was called to ministry witnessing him preach and speak during his time here in Detroit,” Sheffield said.
The walls of Sheffield’s office at the Detroit Association of Black Organizations hold evidence of how the Walk to Freedom put him on a path of activism and service.
“The only reason I get up, come up to the Detroit Association of Black Organizations every day to fight to try to make life better for whoever I can, is because I’ve been touched by the sacrifices of others,” Sheffield said.
Dewberry-Aldridge and Hood also remain active in the community.
“Dr. King said if we don’t resolve the issues of the day, we are going to perish together as fools,” Hood said.
Hood leads Plymouth United Church of Christ.
“The struggle is how do pastors today, how do people today articulate the problems of today, the challenges of today,” Hood said.
Dewberry-Aldridge isn’t wallowing in disappointment at the slow pace of change or the setbacks over the past 60 years.
She said neither should anyone else who cares about civil rights.
“Get involved, love your community,” Dewberry-Aldridge said. “It’s always something to do. It’s everybody’s fight.”