50th Anniversary of March on Washington

"Our goal was not to gain power.  It was to heal a torn-up community."

 

~ Diane Judith Nash, a civil rights leader

 

Marching for your human rights and dignity is healing.  It is an act of restoring faith in yourself and your community. 

Marching is also rewarding for the human spirit and good for the human soul.  Standing up for your rights confirms for you that you are not alone in your feelings; that others share your thoughts and emotions.

Peacefully marching, holding protest signs and delivering passionate speeches gives rise to feelings of respect for those who are declaring, "We will not take it any more."

 

When people feel the continued effects of economic and political oppression, eventually they will push back against those efforts, and that is what happened 50 years ago today when over 250,000 people, black and white, from civil rights, labor and religious groups marched to steps of the Lincoln Memorial in the nation's capital to end racism in America.

 

The highlight of The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was the "I Have A Dream" speech, a historic and inspirational speech delivered by American clergyman and civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His stirring and passionate remarks were a defining moment for the civil rights movement and will be remembered for all time.  

 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Photo Courtesy of thesoundsofhistory.com

The March on Washington is credited with helping to pass two groundbreaking pieces of legislation: the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

 

Today in the nation's capital, President Barack Obama, will deliver remarks about the state of racial harmony America in the same place where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke.  Joining Obama will also be Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter who will also address the expected thousands of marchers who stand  and remain committed to continuing to realize the dream of a Black America that is economically and racially equal.

 

Let us pause and remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr:

 

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today."