WHEN: April 2025
WHERE: The Embrace on Boston Common
The year 2025 marks the 60th Anniversary of the 1965 Freedom Rally. The rally took place on April 23, 1965, with over 20,000 people marching on Boston Common to protest racial imbalance in housing and schools. The march began at Carter Playground, at the corner of Columbus Ave., and ended at Boston Common. Martin Luther King led the march from Roxbury to Boston Common. As part of the Everyone 250 Initiative and other 250 celebrations, Embrace Boston, in collaboration with the City of Boston and other community partners, will recreate this historic march from Carter Playground in Roxbury to the Embrace Monument/Parkman Bandstand.
In honoring this significant historical event, Embrace Boston and its partners are committed to upholding the principles of Festival Ecology for Social and Racial Justice. By integrating ideas of festival organization, sustainability, and equality, the commemorative march will serve as a transformative experience that celebrates the progress made since 1965 and highlights the ongoing fight for racial equity and justice.
Festival Ecology principles will guide the march's planning and execution, emphasizing the amplification of marginalized voices, educational opportunities, sustainable practices, economic integration, and inclusivity and accessibility for all participants. Through this holistic approach, the commemorative march will pay homage to the past and inspire collective action toward a more just and equitable future.
As participants march from Carter Playground to the Embrace Monument/Parkman Bandstand, they will be part of a larger movement dedicated to honoring the struggles and triumphs of the past while actively working towards a society where everyone is valued and treated with dignity and respect.