Civil rights leaders condemned the rally as an attempt to "hijack" the anniversary of Martin Luther King's iconic "I Have A Dream" speech made exactly 47 years ago from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Mr Beck claimed it was "pure coincidence" that his rally – also centred on the Lincoln Memorial – just happened to fall on the anniversary of what many consider to be the greatest of all civil rights speeches.
Rev Al Sharpton, the fiery black leader who has engendered his own share of controversy, organised a rival rally a few miles away that culminated in a march to the future site of a King Memorial, within shouting distance of the Beck rally.
There was a heavy police and security presence and as the two rallies ended, on an almost perfect Washington summer's day, there were no reports of clashes despite earlier fears of conflict.
Read more at Telegraph.co.uk
(Photo/Wikipedia Commons: Beck at the Time 100 Gala, May 4, 2010)
