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The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, held on August 28th, 1963, was a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement. To this day it is one of the largest gatherings to demonstrate a fight against racial inequality in American history. Over two hundred and fifty thousand people all from different backgrounds, although the majority were African Americans, gathered in Washington, D.C. to demand an end to racial segregation and discrimination. They also called for economic justice, equal employment opportunities, and the protection of civil rights. 

This gathering was caused by the long history of racial oppression in America, specifically in the southern states, in which Jim Crow laws enforced segregation leading to widespread racial violence. However, racial oppression was not tied distinctly to the South as in the northern and western cities of America, African Americans faced unemployment, poor housing conditions, and limited access to a quality education. The March on Washington was a call to integrate the social and economic parts of American society in which African Americans faced severe inequalities.

This event was organized collectively by civil rights organizations, labor groups, and religious institutions. Key people in the organization matters include Phillip Randolph, leader of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, along with Bayard Rustin, a civil rights activist who was an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr.

The central demands of the march were quite clear and held a powerful message, civil rights which included the end of racial segregation in public schools and accommodations, and federal influence to create fair employment practices. Apart from that, those who marched that day also called for the establishment of a national minimum wage and increased federal spending on public works to create jobs for African Americans. These demands highlighted the fact that economic inequality in America was as much of a roadblock to absolute freedom as racial discrimination.

The peak of the march was the deliverance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech just outside the Lincoln Memorial. In his speech, King outlined the vision of the march and his hope for a future where there was harmony and peace between races and justice in the economy of America. Directly quoted from Dr. King’s speech “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise and live out the true meaning of its creed.” In these words, Dr. King describes his vision of the future and how this nation could and will turn around and change its past ways of injustice. 

Following the March on Washington, President John F. Kennedy stood tall with Dr. King and all those speaking out to fight against racial injustice. Infamously both President Kennedy and Dr. King were assassinated before they could see the institution of what they viewed the new just America would be. Following JFK’s assassination, his successor Lyndon B. Johnson instituted the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These new laws were both key parts of our legislation that laid the foundation to dismantle racism in the United States.