Leesburg Martin Luther King Memorials Dedicated

In a month that celebrates the important contributions African Americans have made to history, members of the Martin Luther King Jr. "I Have a Dream" Committee gathered in front of the Loudoun County Courthouse Saturday morning to formally dedicate a set of memorial bricks and plaques, some bearing the Civil Rights leader's countenance and famous quotes, placed along several town sidewalks.

The MLK "I Have a Dream" Committee approached the Leesburg Town Council last year about placing memorial plaques and bricks along the route traveled every year by those participating in the annual MLK March and subsequent assembly at Douglass Community Center.

Held on the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, the MLK March route begins at the Loudoun County Courthouse and extends along East Market Street to the Douglass Community Center. The new route designation includes two granite plaques engraved with a profile of King and information about the "I Have A Dream" Committee and the annual MLK Day March; five granite plaques engraved with quotes from King's speeches and writings; and 10 bricks engraved with "MLK Dream." The first plaque is located in the brick sidewalk on East Market Street, adjacent to the Loudoun County Courthouse and across from the post office. The other plaques are placed along the march route, in the sidewalk on the north side of East Market Street. The last plaque is located in front of the Douglass Community Center. The 10 bricks are interspersed along the route between the engraved plaques.

The "I Have A Dream" Committee was established in 1992 by the Loudoun Douglass Alumni Association, the Baha'i Community of Loudoun, the Loudoun County branch of the NAACP, and Bluemont Concert Series. During Saturday's brief dedication ceremony, the founding members of the committee were given plaques in recognition of their 19 years of service.

Committee chairman Tammy Carter said the memorials were not meant to solely be of importance to local African American residents, yet serve as a reminder of the true goal of King's words.

"This is about bringing the community of Leesburg together," she said.

Committee member Mary Randolph said the event was truly symbolic for her. She noted that plaques were laid in front of the courthouse, where slaves had been recorded right next to cattle; along a route that many African American children used to walk to school, because during segregation they were not permitted to ride the buses; and extended to the Douglass School, the result of many African Americans banding together to help fund a school for their children, and also the former site of a lynching post.

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