Montgomery, AL – Several thousand people marched the familiar route up Montgomery's Dexter Avenue, many arm in arm, to celebrate the holiday honoring civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King the day after what would have been his 83rd birthday.
The march ended Monday afternoon near the same spot in front of the Alabama Capitol where King spoke at the end of the Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March in 1965. Recordings of King speeches blared as the marchers made their way up the same route used in the past by civil rights protesters and Civil War soldiers.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley greeted the marchers on the steps and told them they were there ``to celebrate the birthday of a great man.''
He urged the crowd, to continue following King's mantra to serve one another.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)