For Jobs and Freedom BlackHistoryEdZonecom How the March came to be By the summer of 1963 protests for freedom justice and equal rights had spread to more than one thousand cities in the United States ID: 338111
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1963 March on WashingtonFor Jobs and Freedom
© BlackHistoryEdZone.comSlide2
How the March came to beBy the summer of 1963, protests for freedom, justice and equal rights had spread to more than one thousand cities in the United States.Slide3
Events Around the Country in 1963Baltimore, MarylandStudents protested to end segregation at the Northwood theatre.Danville, VirginiaProtestors tried to integrate a Howard Johnson restaurant.Slide4
Mobile, AlabamaIn June 1963, Governor George Wallace tried to keep Vivian Jones and another Black student from integrating the University of Alabama at Mobile.Alabama Governor George Wallace standing in front of door to block integration at the University of AlabamaSlide5
President Kennedy condemned the actions of Governor Wallace and enforced federal court integration orders.On June 11, he sent federal marshals to escort Vivian Jones into the University.Vivian Jones being escorted by federal marshals into the University of Alabama to register for classes.Slide6
That same night President Kennedyaddressed the nation on civil rightsand, for the first time, he stronglycondemned segregation and racialdiscrimination.He also announced his intent tosubmit a new civil rights bill toCongress. Slide7
Major civil rights leaders thought the events of 1963should be topped off with something great. They wanted to end an historicperiod with an historic event.
Civil Rights Leaders (left to right)
Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Asa
Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, John LewisSlide8
A. Philip Randolph, who was considered the dean of the “Negro” leaders, proposed a march on Washington to bring together all the forces fighting for equal rights around the country.Slide9
Gay civil rights activist,Bayard Rustin was chargedwith the task of coordinatingthe march.Slide10
Bayard Rustin was a civil rights organizer and an advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. He believed that racial equality should be pursued through nonviolent means. He helped plan the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, and had worked with A. Philip Randolph to fight discrimination in the defense industry in 1941.Rustin was an expert organizer and often remained behind the scenes so his sexual orientation would not become an issue.Slide11
Planning a march that brought everyone together peacefully in one place would be a massive undertaking.The Black community and its supporters were together in its demand for civil rights, but divided on what tactics to use. Slide12
Prior to the march, the heads of ten organizations put out a statement appealing to marchers and calling for discipline. The statement was signed by the following:Mathew AhmannExecutive Director of the National Catholic Conference for Interracial JusticeReverend Eugene Carson BlakeVice-Chairman of the Commission on Race Relations of theNational Council of Churches of Christ in AmericaJames FarmerNational Director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)Slide13
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.President of the Southern Christian Leadership ConferenceJohn LewisChairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating CommitteeRabbi Joachim PrinzPresident of the American Jewish CongressA. Philip RandolphPresident of the Negro Labor CouncilSlide14
Walter ReutherPresident of the United Automobile, Aerospace and AgriculturalImplement Workers of America, AFL-CIO, and Chairman,Industrial Union Department, AFL-CIORoy WilkinsExecutive Secretary of the National Associationfor the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)Whitney M. Young, Jr.Executive Director of the National Urban LeagueSlide15Slide16
The statement (excerpt)The Washington March of August 28th is more than just a demonstration.It was conceived as an outpouring of the deep feeling of millions of white and colored American citizens that the time has come for the government of the United States of America, and particularly for the Congress of that government to grant and guarantee complete equality in citizenship to the Negro minority of our population.Slide17
It will be orderly, but not subservient. It will be proud, but not arrogant. It will be non-violent, but not timid. It will be unified in purposes and behavior, not splintered into groups and individual competitors. It will be outspoken, but not raucous.We call upon them all, black and white, to resist provocations to disorder and to violence.We ask them to remember that evil persons are determined to smear this March and to discredit the cause of equality by deliberate efforts to stir disorder.Slide18
We call for self-discipline, so that no one in our ranks, however enthusiastic, shall be the spark for disorder.Do not permit a few irresponsible people to hang a new problem around our necks as we return home. Let’s do what we came to do—place the national human rights problem squarely on the doorstep of the national Congress and of the Federal Government. Let’s win at Washington.Slide19
On August 28, 1963 nearly 250,000people came to Washington DCSlide20
They came from different states.Slide21
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)marchers from ConnecticutSlide22
CORE members from New York on their way to the MarchSlide23
They came from Hollywood Actors arriving in chartered planeEntertainer, Sammy Davis Jr. waving to the crowdSlide24
Marchers at Washington, DC train station Slide25
At the MarchSlide26Slide27Slide28Slide29Slide30
Labors Unions supported the MarchSlide31Slide32Slide33
The Medical Committee for Civil RightsSlide34
Young men came to the MarchSlide35
Young women at the MarchSlide36
Dr. King leading marchersSlide37
Leaders of the March met with President Kennedyin the White House Oval OfficeSlide38
Marchers at the Lincoln MemorialSlide39
The event’s program opened with the National Anthem, led by renowned contralto, Marian Anderson.Slide40
It included remarks by the organizers and a tribute to Negro women freedom fighters by Myrlie Evers, the wife of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, who was slain a couple of months earlier while in Mississippi helping African Americans register to vote. Myrlie Evers
Medgar EversSlide41
The most remembered moment of the day is the speech given by Dr. King.The speech I Have A Dream is still discussed and studied today.Dr. King delivering his I Have A Dream speechSlide42
After Dr. King’s speech,Bayard Rustin read the list of ten demands.The DemandsIComprehensive and effective civil rights legislation from the present Congress – without compromise or filibuster – to guarantee all Americans Access to all public accommodations Decent housing Adequate and integrated education The right to voteSlide43
IIWithholding of Federal funds from all programs in which discrimination exists.IIIDesegregation of all school districts in 1963.IV Enforcement of the Fourteenth Amendment – reducing Congressional representation of states where citizens are disenfranchised.Slide44
VA new Executive Order banning discrimination in all housing supported by federal funds.VIAuthority for the Attorney General to institute injunctive suits when any constitutional right is violated.VIIA massive federal program to train and place all unemployed workers – Negro and white – on meaningful and dignified jobs at decent wages.Slide45
VIIIA national minimum wage act that will give all Americans a decent standard of living. (Government surveys show that anything less than $2.00 an hour fails to do this.)IXA broadened Fair Labor Standards Act to include all areas of employment which are presently excluded.Slide46
XA federal Fair Employment Practices Act barring discrimination by federal, state, and municipal governments, and by employers, contractors, employment agencies, and trade unions.Slide47
Marchers listening to the program at the Lincoln MemorialSlide48
The program ended with The Pledgeled by A. Philip Randolph.Slide49
The PledgeI affirm my complete personal commitment to the struggle for jobs and freedom for Americans.To fulfill that commitment, I pledge that I will not relax until victory is won.I pledge that I will join and support all actions undertaken in good faith in accord with the time-honored Democratic tradition of non-violent protest, of peaceful assembly, and petition, and of redress through the courts and the legislative process.Slide50
I pledge to carry the message of the March to my friends and neighbors, back home and arouse them to an equal commitment and equal effort. I will march and I will write letters. I will demonstrate and I will vote. I will work to make sure that my voice and those of my brothers ring clear and determine from every corner of our land.I pledge my heart and my mind and my body unequivocally and without regard to personal sacrifice, to the achievement of social peace through social justice.Slide51
Marchers resting at the Reflecting PoolSlide52
After the MarchSlide53
Buses leaving the MarchSlide54Slide55
An article about the March on Washington appeared in the September 6, 1963 issue of Life Magazine.A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, the organizers of the March, were on the cover.Slide56
“There can be no doubt, even in the true depths of the most prejudiced minds, that the August 28 March on Washington was the most significant and moving demonstration for freedom and justice in all the history of the country. Martin Luther King, Jr.Slide57
Discussion for students in grades 5 - 8Look at each demand and think about where the country is today.Which are still relevant today?Which are no longer valid or needed?What would you add?