We March on...
60 years --a recommitment to the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom"
Remembering the shoulders on which we stand…
On August 28, 1963, more than a quarter million people participated in the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, gathering near the Lincoln Memorial.
More than 3,000 members of the press covered this historic march, where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the exalted "I Have a Dream" speech.
Originally conceived by renowned labor leader A. Phillip Randolph and Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the NAACP, the March on Washington evolved into a collaborative effort amongst major civil rights groups and icons of the day.
I was a mere child, not at the March and have no literal recall of the event itself only the awareness of my environment at the time it took place. I knew the work of those leaders and activists that were on the Mall in Washington, D.C. to fight for “jobs and freedom,” changed my life.
I was about to start school, a historic moment because I was one of three little black kids attending our town’s newly integrated school system. Today, my personal perspective is shaped by the many historic events of my early childhood. The assassination of President Kennedy that same year in November, the Vietnam War and eventually Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination in Memphis, 5 years later —all shaped my civic spirit.
Now 60 years later, I remember the line “The more things change, the more they remain the same” from Alice Walker’s Color Purple. Many of the rights they fought for and won have been snatched back —from voting rights to women’s reproductive rights. Segregation is being reinstituted in public schools under the umbrella of charter schools complete with state sponsored vouchers to help pave the way.
“America is not defined by its perfection but our commitment to perfect it”
~Madame Vice President Kamala Harris
The sacrifices made to gain our rights and freedoms must never be forgotten or taken for granted, many paid the ultimate price! We’re all called to the work of democracy.
Hear the succinct and eloquent summation of the situation from Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.
We’re at existential crossroads. We will not rest until we reach the promised land of liberty and justice for all. ~Rep Hakeem Jeffries