Energized and influenced by the March on Washington
Fifty years ago, Vernon Watkins heard the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. give his “I Have a Dream” speech at the march on Washington. It was a transformative moment for Watkins, now 74. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)
A photo album shows Vernon and Marion Watkins’ 1956 wedding, along with other family photos. Their four children are all college graduates. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)
Portraits show Vernon Watkins and his wife, Marion, in 1956. The couple married in Detroit and now live in Rancho Cucamonga. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. waves from the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963. (AFP/Getty Images / AFP/Getty Images)
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A photograph in Vernon Watkins’ home shows him with former South African President Nelson Mandela. Watkins attended the March on Washington in 1963, at age 24, and later became one of California’s leading union organizers. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)
Vernon Watkins studies mementos in his Rancho Cucamonga home. The March on Washington, he says, filled him with new confidence about his future. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)
A photograph of President Obama’s family with a thank-you note from First Lady Michelle Obama sits on a shelf in Vernon Watkins’ home. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)
Vernon Watkins, 74, poses with three other people named Vernon Watkins: his son, his grandson and his great-grandson. (Watkins family photo / Los Angeles Times)
