Civil Rights Anniversary March In Frankfort

On March 5, 1964, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.; Jackie Robinson, who broke major league baseball’s color barrier; and the popular folksingers Peter, Paul and Mary were part of a civil rights march on the Capitol in Frankfort.

The estimated 10,000 people who marched on that cold, wet day demanded lawmakers pass legislation that would keep blacks from being discriminated against in restaurants, hotels and other public places.

The march became one of the most significant civil rights protests in the nation.

The next time the General Assembly met, in 1966, Kentucky became the first Southern state to enact a civil rights law.

On March 5, 2014, thousands of people marked the 50th anniversary with another march on the Capitol.

The agenda varied from group-to-group.  Some people marched demanding a statewide Fairness Ordinance to eliminate discrimination against all people, including the L-G B-T community.

Other marchers lobbied for felons voting to be restored after they had paid their debt to society. 

While others simply marked the significance of the anniversary and highlighted what work still needed to be done.