MLK Day March For Unity To Be Held In Falls Church

FALLS CHURCH, VA—Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a big deal in the city where the civil rights leader gave the iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. Nine miles away, the DC suburb of Falls Church has its own civil rights history and way to commemorate the holiday. The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation will host the second annual March for Unity, Racial Healing, and Justice Monday, Jan. 15.

The free event is a peaceful march through downtown Falls Church to speak out against violations of civil rights and to begin a conversation on tackling America's divisinessness. Hundreds of participants are expected to march from the Tinner Hill Civil Rights Monument (Tinner Hill and South Washington Street) to Falls Church Episcopal (115 East Fairfax Street) with warming stations along the half-mile route. The group will march, sing, and stand together in unity. Immediately following will be a video tribute to Dr. King and a panel discussion.

The parade's starting point at Tinner Hill has a significant place in civil rights history. In 1915, African American citizens led by Dr. E.B. Henderson and Joseph Tinner fought an ordinance imposing segregated housing in Tinner Hill and organized the first rural branch of the NAACP. The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation was created over 20 years ago to preserve the city's rich civil rights history, and the city dedicated the monument

Invited speakers at the march include Rep. Don Beyer, Fairfax NAACP President Kofi Annan, Andrea Brown of the Falls Church and Vicinity Social Justice Committee, Garland Nixon of the ACLU, Zainab Arain of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Cat Clark of Showing up for Racial Justice Northern Virginia and a Black Lives Matter representative.

Lineup begins at 12:30 p.m., and the march starts at 1 p.m. The panel discussion will immediately follow from 1:30 p.m.-3 p.m. The public is invited to participate in the march, watch from the sidewalk or attend the program afterward.

Free parking will be available at The Lincoln at Tinner Hill (455 South Maple Avenue). There will be a shuttle bus available to The Lincoln for seniors and the disabled after the program.

Residents should expect road closures intermittently between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.:

• S. Maple St., from the intersection at Tinner Hill Rd. to Annandale Rd.
• Annandale Rd., from the intersection at S. Maple St. to S. Washington St.
• S. Washington St., from the intersection of Annandale Rd. to E. Fairfax St.
• E. Fairfax St., from the intersection at S. Washington St. to Douglass Ave.

See more information about the march here.

Image via Youtube screenshot