Carousel on the Mall

Carousel on the Mall
WASHINGTON DC
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.


Submitted by @drewackermann