SAN ANTONIO – Monday marks the 30th anniversary of the MLK March in San Antonio, but for Greg Marla, the march means so much more.
Marla was a part of the Freedom Riders during the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
At the time he was an active serviceman and had to disguise himself to avoid imprisonment.
"I could be part of the crowd but still be there to do the job," Marla said. "To keep the mission going. To keep the dream going."
Marla didn't go without getting injured. He has scars on his hands that he said were the result of a beating by a Mississippi state trooper.
"I was never so scared in my life than when I was a Freedom Rider in the south," Marla said. "I will never allow my country to go back that way."
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Calling San Antonio home for the last 22 years, Marla said he believes what he went through then is why it's so important to continue pushing forward -- not only as a community but as a nation.
"We're not perfect, but we got a way of working together," Marla said. "We got a way of saying, 'OK, we aren't perfect but can be.'"