School Children Mark King's 'Dream' Speech

CHICAGO (CBS) -- On this day 49 years ago, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered what has come to be known as his "I Have A Dream" speech.

Today, about 100 sixth-graders from a Southwest Side elementary school commemorated that speech by marching around their school in support of "weeding out hate."

The "Occupy the Dream--Weed Out Hate" march took place at Marquette Elementary School on 65th and Richmond.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya Reports

Jariel Brown was among the marchers. The 11-year old says he's limited to playing in his front and back yards because of all the violence in his community. He says weeding out hate, to him, means "stop the violence ... no more killing, be nice to one another."

Marc Daniels, the campaign director of the Weed Out Hate Initiative hopes to have a million children lobby the White House to have a Weed Out Hate "mega-event" on the White House grounds next Aug. 28, the 50th anniversary of the "I Have A Dream" speech.

He says, "Unfortunately, there are still weed seeds of hatred embedding in our society, our consciousness, that cause bullying and violence and even worse."

Rabbi Capers Funnye told the students that Dr. King tried to march for fair and open housing in Marquette Park in the 1960s, but that, "his march did not get very far."

He told the sixth-graders that they "have an opportunity to fulfill the dream of Martin Luther King by coming together and standing against bullying, standing against gang violence."

Marquette School principal LaTarsha Green says Marquette is a "turnaround" school--with a brand new staff.

"This is our third week of school, and we're working really hard to establish a culture of peace and a rigorous learning environment," she said.

Green says that, a very short time ago, "non-violence" wasn't a word that would have been used to describe the school.