One trajectory along the path of "celebrating diversity" took me on the Freedom Train, parade and ralley held on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Jan 17th, 2005. I boarded the train in Palo Alto. On the train, I met William who had been in a freedom march each year since 1965 when he first marched with Martin Luther King Jr. He had also been on all "Million Man" marches.

William gave me tips on how the events unfold...the civil rights movement has always been about nonviolent protest for equality for all people. Civil rights do not belong to only one ethnic group. The Freedom Parade of today is a family celebration - like the fourth of July, but without fireworks. People participate as much for fellowship as they do for freedom.

Once at the San Francisco Caltrain station, William invited me to walk with he and his friends during the parade. Chuck Price also joined us (Where's waldo? Chuck is in one of the photos). The crowd during the parade was friendly and in good spirits. We walked just under two miles from Townsend street to the Civic Auditorium where Glide Memorial hosted a ralley. I lost track of William and his friends at the ralley.

After the ralley, I wandered in front of city hall to see the last of a skirmish of words between a lone man waving an American flag and a group advocating a free Palestine. They both were shouting "You killed children!" at each other across the lawn. The local police did a good job of keeping the two groups separated. Afterwards, I walked down Market Street.