March On DC Plus 60

Written 8/26/2013

August 28, 1963 hundreds of thousands of Americans assembled in Washington DC to march for Jobs and Freedom. They gathering had a good number of whites, but the marchers were predominantly black and very brave considering how the police treated any congregation of coloreds with violence.

The DC police had mobilized the entire force and its chief had called in the National Guard to maintain order and had gone so far as to forbid liquor sales in the capitol.

The sound system at the Lincoln Memorial had been vandalized and organizers had demanded Attorney General Robert F Kennedy for a replacement.

The US Army made the necessary connections and the next day the area around the Reflecting Pool was occupied by the largest gathering of African-Americans ever held in the USA. The mainstream media expected mayhem. None expected peace from blacks. They were wrong.

A moment of silence was observed for the passing of W. E. B. DuBois and according to Wikipedia Roy Wilkins told the crowd, "Regardless of the fact that in his later years Dr. Du Bois chose another path, it is incontrovertible that at the dawn of the twentieth century his was the voice that was calling you to gather here today in this cause."

Speakers from the SNCC, CORE, and SCLC extolled immediate action against racism.

With good reason.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s took to the podium.

I was twelve years old and watched his speech on a Zenith TV.

I knew no black people.

I lived in a suburb south of Boston.

His words struck my soul.

The preacher had a dream and I have shared that dream throughout my life.

One day we will enter the Promised Land.

To hear his words please go to the following URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs