Historic march to Honor MLK and Protest Police Killing of Kenneth Walker

• Civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson & Judge Mathis address 8,000;

On the 76th birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., some 8,000 people turned out to remember the Dec. 10, 2003, shooting death of Kenneth Walker in Columbus and to honor the triumphs of the minister who made a difference in the fight for civil rights. The event drew a host of civil rights leaders going back to the King days. The president and CEO of the NAACP announced a national initiative that will focus on stopping the shootings of often unarmed black men and women by law enforcement officers, using statistics to get the attention of the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI as well as local and state authorities. It also included Joseph E. Lowery, former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., two of the most revered civil rights leaders of their time. This lineup of national civil rights figures was perhaps the most impressive ever gathered in Columbus, making the Walker march and rally the national epicenter of race-and-justice protest, if just for one day. The crowd standing outside the Government Center for some 2 1/2 hours was stirred by a TV judge, Judge Greg Mathis, as he related how a local radio commentator called his station after he spoke in Columbus last week, trying to get him in trouble by saying he advocated violence. But he said he would not be scared away. "Not only am I back, but I want to let you know I am not your slave," he said. "... You will not shut me up. The only way to shut me up is to lock me up." [more] and [more] and [more]