The March on Washington represented the only moment that all factions of the civil rights movement—and its allies—came together to speak as one.
Organizers and participants often disagreed on philosophy, strategy, and tactics, but the March gave them an opportunity to focus on what they shared.
The original purpose of the March—as envisioned by its lead sponsor, longtime labor leader A. Philip Randolph, was to call for jobs and economic opportunity for blacks.
That summer, President John F. Kennedy had proposed the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. March organizers agreed to use the March to put pressure on Congress to pass the legislation.
The March on Washington embodied the spirit of small-d democracy. Randolph and a small band of organizers coordinated the effort from their headquarters in Harlem. But getting 250,000 people to the nation’s capital—at the time, the largest demonstration in American history—required the efforts of thousand of people across the U.S.
In researching Nobody Turn Me Around: A People’s History of the 1963 March on Washington (Beacon Press, June 2010), I interviewed over 100 people who participated. I could not use all of their stories. Some of the memories that did not make it into the book are presented below.
—Charles EuchnerOrigins: Marchers including Freedom Rider Hank Thomas, SNCC activist Courtland Cox, and others recall the moments when they became committed to the civil rights movement.
The Summer of 1963: All over America - not just the South, but also Northern cities like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Baltimore - civil rights demonstrations broke out. With a major civil rights bill pending before Congress, the movement faced its moment of truth in 1963.
Planning the March on Washington: Bayard Rustin and his gang of activists had just two months to plan the most important gathering of the movement. Despite some tensions, the movement came together like never before to create what Martin Luther King called "the greatest demonstration for freedom in our nation's history."
Traveling to the March on Washington: They came by bus, train, car, and even foot. One even roller-skated and another bicycled. Memories of the journey to the nation's capital.
Faces in the Crowd: The people who made the march historic were not on the stage but on the National Mall. From sharecroppers to assembly-line workers, from ministers to activists, from housewives to small businessmen, more than 250,000 gathered to make history.
On Stage at the Great March: The March on Washington featured a who's who not only of black America but of leading figures in politics, labor, and entertainment.
The Dream: Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" oration has become recognized as the greatest speech of the twentieth century. Here's how people in attendance responded to his stirring call for redemption and transformation.
'Go Back . . .': Dr. King urged the throng to "go back to Mississippi, go back to Louisiana . . ." and actively push for civil rights. Here are a few stories of the trips home and the marchers' efforts to continue the movement.
