Press Release
To: News Media
 
From: Rosemore Community and Roseland Heights Community Associations
 
Date: August 27, 2011
 
Who: Rosemore Community and Roseland Heights Community Associations
 
What: Dedication of Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge
 
When: Saturday, August 27, 2011
 
Time: 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
 
Where: Secretary of State Facility parking lot (Northeast corner) 99th and King Drive.
 
Contact: Bob Anderson- phone (312) 859-1478 or email spart-1@earthlink.net
                                                                                                                               
On Sunday, August 28, 2011 Civic Leaders and organizations throughout this nation and beyond will gather on the 48th Anniversary of the "I Have a Dream speech. They will be gathering, in Washington, D.C. for the unveiling of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The ceremony also falls within the 55th Anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955 to 1956 -381 days), the protest that sparked Dr. King's non-violent civil rights movement.  King's D.C. Memorial's unveiling has also sparked an initiative for King Drive in Chicago.
 
The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Gateway Initiative is a plan to dedicate the bridge over the Bishop Ford Expressway between 99th and 100th Streets on Dr. Martin L. King Drive creating a community gateway. This memorial gateway will serve all entering and exiting Rosemoor and surrounding communities. After a dedication of the bridge, the plan is to place memorials to honor the prestigious civil rights leader on both the North and South side of the bridge. The Rosemoor Community Association and Roseland Heights Community Association believe this "gateway" is a perfect place and excellent opportunity to project pride in our neighborhood, beautify our public open "green" space and welcome all who enter.
 
On Saturday, August 27, 2011 Chicago's Rosemoor Community Association (Roseland) in collaboration with the Roseland Heights Community Association (Chatham) would like to be part of this historic event by dedicating the overpass between 99th and 100th Streets on King Drive-the only bridge on King Drive- as The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge. Like The Edmund Pettus Bridge across the Alabama River in Selma, the King Memorial Bridge will become a symbol. The Pettus bridge had a huge role in the fight for African American voting rights; Bloody Sunday and the other marches show that part of the bridge's history and why it is so well known. Marchers crossed this bridge on March 21, about 3,200 marchers set out from Selma for Montgomery. By the time they reached the capitol on Thursday, March 25, they were 25,000-strong. Less than five months after the last of the three marches, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965--the best possible Gateway to Freedom!. WE hope the  King Bridge will also serve as a new symbol, a "Gateway to Roseland", freedom and education! Just across the bridge is Chicago State University, a bridge to education and education is the gateway/bridge to improvement, hope,and a realized dream for Roseland and surrounding communities.