MLK Celebration on the Mall...Disappointed some.

While over 100,000 people were expected to show up at today’s ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, late estimates put the crowd numbers at 20,000. Mike Levine of ABC News reported at 2:10 p.m. ET that unofficial crowd estimates from law enforcement sources put the number at “over 20,000.”

Noticeably absent from the speaker line-up at the Let Freedom Ring event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington today: the nation’s only black Senator, Tim Scott. He was not invited to participate in the historic event, a spokesperson for the Senator said.

Washington, D.C., federal workers were given the opportunity to take a “liberal leave” day to participate in the observation.

H/T Weaselzipper

The Crowd Roared

ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL

Ronald Reagan signed the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed in 1986. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King's birthday, January 15.

President George H. W. Bush signs Martin Luther King Day Proclamation