
By Matt Laslo
Local elected officials and civil rights leaders will hold a march of their own this morning in response to conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck's rally on the National Mall.
Beck says he didn't know today was the 47th anniversary of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Coincidence or not, Beck's plan angered many who say an anti-government rally isn't in keeping with the anniversary.
Counter demonstrators will assemble at 11 a.m. at Dunbar High School and at 1 p.m., they'll head to the Lincoln Memorial just when Beck's event is set to end.
The Reverend Al Sharpton says he's not concerned about that.
"We're nonviolent. In fact we rallied our march totally away from them and our march is not even starting until their permit says they're supposed to be off. So we're not trying to have a confrontation. He did," Sharpton told reporters.
Organizers of the counter march say they'll also highlight Washington's push for statehood to end what they say is the disenfranchisement of D.C. residents.

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