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| The
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom |
Posted:
08.27.03 | |
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Thursday, August 28 marks the 40th anniversary of the March on Washington,
an event led by Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders that changed
the course of the civil rights movement. Printer-friendly versions:
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On Saturday, political and religious leaders, along with a diverse crowd of
several thousand marchers, gathered in Washington D.C. to commemorate the anniversary.
Speakers included King's widow Coretta Scott King, and his son Martin Luther King
III. Thursday the 28th - the actual anniversary day - a march in King's
hometown of Atlanta, Georgia will honor the man and the historic event. | |
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| History | |
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Roughly 250,000 people marched through Washington,
D.C., on Aug. 28, 1963. Called "The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,"
the event called the nation's attention to the injustice and inequalities that
black Americans faced because of the color of their skin. In support of
civil rights for all Americans, the demonstrators made their way from the Washington
Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his memorable
and moving "I Have A Dream" speech.  The
Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal."
But even after the Civil War and the end of slavery, people of color found themselves
treated unfairly. They weren't allowed in many public schools, they had to eat
at separate restaurants and use separate bathrooms, and they had to pay taxes
and pass literacy tests to vote. The idea was to keep blacks "separate but
equal."
By the late 1950s a movement had started. People were demanding
laws to protect their civil rights - rights that all free Americans are guaranteed
as citizens of this country. One was Thurgood Marshall, a lawyer who went on to
become the first black justice on the Supreme Court. Another was Rosa Parks, who
refused to give up her bus seat to white passengers. One particularly influential
speaker and activist was Martin Luther King Jr. | |
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| A
Man with a Dream | |
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King was a minister from Alabama who became one of the leading voices of the
civil rights movement. One of his first successes was the Montgomery Bus Boycott
- a 382-day operation that led to the desegregation of bussing.  King
was threatened with violence and jail, and his house was even bombed, but this
did little to stop him.
From then on King was at the forefront of the civil
rights movement. He traveled across the country, organizing protests and marches
to call attention to the struggle of black Americans. Though on several
occasions King was thrown in jail, he maintained a philosophy of nonviolence.
King believed that fighting back would only make things worse, and the true path
to victory could be achieved through preaching truth and acceptance. | |
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| The
March | |
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In late 1962, civil rights activists started to organize what would become
the largest civil rights demonstration in the history of the United States. It
took awhile, but by June of 1963, they had put together an impressive group of
leaders and speakers - including King - to help them.  The
organizers of the march had to make sure people had a way of getting into the
city. They had to make sure marchers knew where to go and what to do once they
got there. They had to have doctors and nurses in case anyone needed first aid.
They had to provide water, security, and be ready for any emergency. And they
needed some way to pay for all of it. It was going to take fund raising, planning
and lots of work.
On Aug. 28, the city swelled with marchers. They drove
in. They bussed in. They took trains. Three student marchers walked and hitchhiked
700 miles to get there. A quarter million people waved signs and cheered and listened
to speakers address the civil rights problems challenging America. The last speaker
was Martin Luther King Jr. "I am happy to join with you today in what
will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history
of our nation," King began. His ensuing speech is remembered as one of the
corner stones of the civil rights movement. A year later, Congress passed
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made segregation in public places illegal,
required employers to provide equal employment opportunities, and protected the
right to vote of every American, regardless of the color of their skin. Printer-friendly
PDF version
of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. --
Chris Nammour, Online NewsHour | |
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It makes me want to come to school every day, and it has given me something that I’m really good at.
