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A Moment with My Son-Short

Let me give you the backstory of this beautiful photograph of Martin Luther King III and his mother, Coretta Scott King, taken on stage at the 1983 March on Washington’s 20^th Anniversary for Jobs, Peace and Freedom in D.C..

Maybe no more than a month prior, I had just arrived off a plane from Nigeria. My mother was supposed to attend the march, as she was a member of Local DC37 but she sent me instead. In 1963, she sent me to Chicago to visit with my cousins while she attended the march; now it was my turn. It was nice to be a part of Civil Rights history.

I felt at home. The bus was filled with all of her correctional colleagues who worked at Spofford Juvenile Detention Center in The Boogie Down Bronx. I didn’t know anyone but it was a nice and peaceful ride. Upon arriving were thousands of people from all over America. This march was organized by Mrs. Coretta Scott King to carry on the legacy of her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King.

As I wandered around the Mall looking for interesting images, I looked upon the stage where all politicians and V.I.P.s were seated. As I approached the stairs (life is funny), an old friend and classmate from LACC, working security, was a light in shining armor. He made it happen, saying, “You have five minutes to get your shots,” of which I took great advantage. As I was moving about the stage, a shot here, a shot there, I saw Mrs. King and immediately we clicked. I didn’t have to tell her; she leaned into her son, Martin Luther King III, for this iconic photograph.

Immediately after, my LACC friend tapped me on the shoulder and said my five minutes were up. I thanked him and began heading back to the bus. Now, there were so many buses in the parking lot, it took me a while to locate our bus. Upon boarding the bus, my mother’s colleagues weren’t pleased with my lateness, for which I profusely apologized.

Nobody talked to me on the way back to NYC, so I fell asleep. I later learned of one woman suggesting they leave me, to whereby the bus captain said, to her. “So, you want me to tell Jane Cash that we left her only son in Washington, D.C.?” The woman shyly replied, “No,” and went back to her seat!

Please don’t judge me, ‘it was a great day!’

Not knowing three months later Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson would light up the world with his run for President of the United States.