On August 28, 1963, just days after his eleventh birthday, Leake joined his parents attending the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. When King was assassinated less than five years later, Leake began what has become a form of silent protest by remaining seated during the U.S. national anthem. The protest almost caused him to be tried in court-martial when he was in the Army, stationed at Fort Dix. In 2016, a similar protest by Colin Kaepernick caught mass media attention and the ire of then President Trump.