City Celebrates MLK Day With Traditional Liberty Bell Ceremony
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As the home of the Liberty Bell, Philadelphia has a special relationship with the MLK Day holiday, one that is celebrated every year on Independence Mall at noon.
The King Association for Non-Violence says that when the campaign to make Dr. King's birthday a national holiday succeeded, his widow envisioned it starting with a ceremonial twelve strikes on the Liberty Bell. So, each year, the King Association does just that.
This year's ringer was 95-year-old Ruth Wilson, selected for her role as a local Rosie the Riveter, entering the workforce during World War II to replace men gone to battle.
Mayor Jim Kenney, Gov. Tom Wolf, both of Pennsylvania's U.S. senators and Congressman Dwight Evans spoke, but only state Sen. Sharif Street addressed the controversy forming the backdrop to this year's observation -- the President Donald Trump's derogatory statements about immigration from Africa and Haiti.
"If Dr. King were alive today he would be condemning the remarks of the president when he talked about whole groups of people from whole continents being not worth anything," Street said.
The ceremony also featured the Pine Forge Academy choir.