SAN ANTONIO — On Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Dorothy “Mother” Mondine was heard singing hymns at the start of San Antonio’s MLK march. 

“Walk with me lord, walk with me ooh while I’m on this tedious journey, I want Jesus,” Mondine sang. 

This East San Antonio event was one of the largest marches in the nation. 

“I think about what Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘Let freedom ring,’” Mondine said. 

Some folks spent the march celebrating. Others, like Madelein Santibáñez and Kimiya Factory, spent it addressing issues that affect LGBTQ trans folks. 

“When Black trans live are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back,” Santibáñez said.  

Some shined a light on inequity in the workplace like the SaySí Union, while others, like Maggie Mireles, kept her sibling's name alive — Eva Mireles. 

The sea of people stretched so far back it was difficult to tell where the last participants were at. 

The march was used as an opportunity to preserve Black history, like the Bexar County Buffalo Soldiers. It was their first march since 2020, and they came with dozens of horses trailing them. 

Thomas said the Buffalo Soldiers were there to fill an educational void. “It’s not taught in the schools or classrooms,” Williams said. So they go to them, whether it’s in the schools, churches, after-school programs, and pique the interests of the next generation with their horses in tow. 

“It shows how the soldiers fought during that time, using their horses,” Williams said. 

Which brings them one step closer to preserving their true history.