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Carousel on the Mall, Washington, D.C.
On August 28, 1963, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, not far from here. On that same day, this carousel was part of a small but significant victory for Civil Rights about 40 miles away, as segregation ended at Baltimore's Gwynn Oak Amusement Park after nearly a decade of protests there. The first African American child to go on a ride at Gwynn Oak that day was 11-month-old Sharon Langley. With her father Charles Langley, Jr. by her side, she took a spin on the park's carousel, as news reporters snapped photos. In 1981, the Gwynn Oak carousel S.N. 105948, a classic, built by the Allan Herschell Co., was relocated here to the National Mall, where it has always been open to everyone and stands as a symbol of the harmony of which Dr. King dreamed. |