Crowds gather for March on Washington 50th anniversary

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President Obama delivers his address on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images)

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President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama walk into the Lincoln Memorial after speaking during the March on Washington commemoration. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images)

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President Obama greets Yolanda King, daughter of Martin Luther King III, who looks on alongside his wife, Andrea King. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

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President Obama shakes hands with former President Clinton during the commemoration of the March on Washington. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

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Rene Henry of Washington joins thousands of others during the commemoration of the March on Washington. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

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President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, along with former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, arrive during the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

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Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) speaks during the commemoration of the March on Washington. (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

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Oprah Winfrey speaks during the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

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Spectators watch President Obama speak during the commemoration of the March on Washington. (Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA)

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Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) waves to the crowd during the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

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Thr Rev. Al Sharpton speaks at the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the Lincoln Memorial. (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press)

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On Aug. 28, thousands of peopled attended the “Let Freedom Ring Commemoration and Call to Action” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom at the Lincoln Memorial. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

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Actor Forest Whitaker speaks during the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

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Rev. Joseph Lowery, former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, speaks at the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial. (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press)

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Traditional Maori dancers from Destiny Church in New Zealand perform during the “Let Freedom Ring Commemoration and Call to Action” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

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People cover themselves with rain ponchos in front of the Lincoln Memorial on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

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Actor Jamie Foxx speaks during the “Let Freedom Ring Commemoration and Call to Action” to commemorate the March on Washington. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

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Marchers walk from Capitol Hill to the Lincoln Memorial during the “Let Freedom Ring Commemoration and Call to Action” honoring the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, the landmark civil rights event where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

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John Mbugua and his son Giovanni Mbugua, 6, of San Jose, left, and Lavon Johnson and his son Mason Johnson, 2, of Fort Meade Md., greet one another while marching with thousands of others during a march honoring the 50th anniversary of the historic 1963 march on Washington. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

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People put up with light rain near at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to commemorate the 50th anniversary on the march on Washington, best remembered for King’s stirring vision of a United States free of inequality and prejudice, telecast live to a nation undergoing a phenomenal decade of soul-searching, crisis and change. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

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People take pictures during the “Let Freedom Ring” ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the march on Washington. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

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Emcees Soledad O’Brien, left, and Hill Harper open the “Let Freedom Ring” ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the march on Washington. (Shawn Thew / EPA)

By Alexei Koseff

Aug. 28, 2013 8:37 AM PT

<i>This post has been updated. See below for details.</i>

WASHINGTON -- Fifty years after the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, thousands once again took to the streets of the nation’s capital to call for economic and racial equality.

As the crowd made its way down Constitution Avenue, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, in sprinkling rain, it was led by veterans of the 1963 march walking arm in arm.

For many of them, the event was a passing of the torch to a new generation to take up the unfinished cause of the civil rights movement--the promise of equality “embedded in the founding of America,” as Cheryl LaRoche put it.

The local Washington resident was 17 when she drove down from New York to take part in the original march. Now she was here with her 17-year-old grandson, Jackson Price.

DOCUMENTS: Coverage of the 1963 March

“I love the young people,” LaRoche said. “They let you know they’re going to pick up your work.”

Many veteran marchers were joined by their families. Others were escorted by students from Alabama State University like Jessica Ledbetter.

The senior rehab services major said her grandparents had told her many stories of the original march and called it “breathtaking” to take part in the 50th anniversary.

“My parents don’t have jobs and they need to work,” she said. “I really understand that message of jobs and freedom.”

[Updated, 8:55 a.m. PDT Aug. 28: The daylong celebration of the protest that drew more than 200,000 people to the nation’s capital began with an invitation-only interfaith prayer service at the Shiloh Baptist Church.

The commemoration, called “Let Freedom Ring” after a refrain in King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, unfolds at the Lincoln Memorial, the site of the march 50 years ago to the day, also on a Wednesday.

President Obama will close out a day of speakers that will also include former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter; Oprah Winfrey; the Rev. Al Sharpton; Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President Kennedy and Lynda Johnson Robb, the daughter of President; and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the last remaining living speaker from the 1963 march.

The crowd will also be entertained by musical acts, including gospel and R&B singer BeBe Winans, country singer LeAnn Rimes and folk singers Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey.

At around 3 p.m. Eastern time (noon Pacific), people across the country will simultaneously mark the 50th anniversary of King’s speech by hosting “Let Freedom Ring” bell-ringing events, including in many of the places King mentioned in his speech.]

ALSO:

Marchers follow in King’s footsteps

Anniversary puts spotlight on Obama and civil rights

50 years on, civil rights movement has changed with the times

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alexei.koseff@latimes.com