March on Washington

"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood."

- Martin Luther King

 

 

Fifty years ago, on August 28, 1963, a quarter of a million people gathered in Washington, D.C.  The theme of the March on Washington, as it came to be called, was "jobs and freedom."  It was probably the largest rally for human rights in the history of the United States.  It was here that Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech, a call for racial harmony and equality.  The March spurred the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which have done so much to ensure our democracy.  The latter legislation, renewed by overwhelming majorities in Congress in 2006, was effectively destroyed by SCOTUS' 5-4 decision in Shelby County vs. Holder.  Shelby County vs. Holder, coming at a time of Republican-orchestrated voter suppression efforts across the country, undoubtedly ranks among the worst Supreme Court decisions in history.

The Republic has come a long way since that day 50 years ago.  We have an African-American President.  De jure segregation has ended. De facto segregation is becoming less common.  Only in the most backwards parts of the country among the most backwards segments of society is blatant racism tolerated.  Still, challenges remain.  Voter suppression efforts are among the most obvious assaults against the freedoms won in the Civil Rights era.  Mistreatment of immigrants, discrimination based on sexual orientation, prejudice against Muslims, racial profiling - these all argue that we have a long way to go before true equality is reached in this nation.

This Saturday, August 24, a smaller crowd, though still numbering in the tens of thousands, gathered in Washington to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic event.  Speakers praised participants and leaders in the earlier civil rights movement and addressed today's equality issues.  There has been plenty of coverage of Saturday's rally and I'll just give a couple of links here...

CBS News' coverage of Saturday's rally - especially stirring is John Lewis' speech today - "the vote is precious...almost sacred..it is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democracy". Lewis was arrested 40 times during the 1960's and is the only surviving speaker from the 1963 March.

MSNBC's coverage of Saturday's rally

...and a link to MLK's speech

Link to Complete Audio and Text of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech (American Rhetoric website)

"And when this happens, and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

                Free at last! Free at last!

                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

- Martin Luther King