BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Activists gathered on the Boston Common Friday afternoon to mark the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "I Have A Dream" speech.
Crowds met at the Parkman Bandstand on the Common at 1. p.m. and marched to the Massachusetts State House, where they heard speakers echo MLK Jr.'s words calling for an end to systemic racism. Many also urged legislators to pass the state's police reform bill, which is currently under debate.
Boston's march and rally followed the recent police shooting of an unarmed Black man, Jacob Blake Jr., in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which has prompted widespread renewed calls for police reform across the nation.
On Wednesday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said what happened in Wisconsin was "an atrocity." In the coming weeks, Walsh said the City's Police Reform Task Force will be presenting him with recommendations for police reform measures in Boston, some of which will involve changes to law enforcement training.
"We've already looked at our [police] training in the city, and we're going to continue to make changes in our training," Walsh said. "I'm not saying it could never happen, but we have never seen that here in the City of Boston. I'm hoping, I praying to God we never see that."
As far as the police reform legislation currently being worked out at the State House, Walsh said he's not sure what the hold up is.
Brothers United was one of the groups outside the State House Friday, wearing shirts that read #Enough. James Mackey spoke on behalf of the group, and said the state needs to understand the injustices Black people face; injustices that he doesn't want his children to have to deal with too.
WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal reports:
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(Photo: Karyn Regal/Twitter)