Brevard grandmother remembers marching with Martin Luther King Jr.

Rosemary McGill shares story of meeting civil rights icon in Florida

ROCKLEDGE, Fla. – With Wednesday marking 50 years since the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a Brevard County civil rights activist recalled meeting King in the 1960s.

"He was like anybody else,"  said Rosemary McGill, who marched with King in St. Augustine in 1964. "Dr. King wanted the same thing that all Americans want and we did it through peaceful demonstration, teaching us to love our enemies," the 74-year-old grandmother said.

McGill joined the civil rights movement in the late 1950s and attended the March on Washington in 1963, where King delivered his famed, "I Have a Dream" speech.

"That was a moment of euphoria," McGill said as she described watching King at the National Mall in Washington.

While Rosa Parks was one of the inspirations for McGill to join the civil rights movement, she calls King  the "anointed" one of the movement.

McGill said she will never forget the messages of change King etched in American history.

"You never forget a dream," McGill said. "Your memory doesn't change with some things that happen in life."

McGill said that, 50 years after King's death, people still seek his legacy.
 


About the Author:

James joined News 6 in March 2016 as the Brevard County Reporter. His arrival was the realization of a three-year effort to return to the state where his career began. James is from Pittsburgh, PA and graduated from Penn State in 2009 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

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