The March on Washington
Seborah Conklin-Morris/ Kylar Harvey
CP English 9
Mrs. Gardner
10 December 2012
The March on Washington
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom occurred in Washington D.C on the 28th of August, 1963. Attended by some 250,000 people, it was the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation’s capital, and one of the first to have extensive television coverage.( Source 3) The march started because of employment discrimination against African-Americans who were forced into lower paying positions,
Labor leaders and elder statesmen’s of the civil rights movement A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin had initially planned a march in 1941. Directors of the Major Civil Rights Organization went to work on behalf of the proposed legislation. In the political sense, the march was organized by coalition of organizations and their leaders including: Randolph who was chosen as the titular head of the march, James Farmer (president of the Congress of Racial Equality ), John Lewis ( chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) , Martin Luther King, Jr. (president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference), Roy Wilkins (president of the NAACP), Whitney Young (president of the National Urban League). ( Source 3) They determined that the most efficient strategy would be a public show of support in the nation’s capital.
In the spring of 1963, Randolph revived his proposal on the march. The “March for Jobs and Freedom,” as it was called, demanded desegregation of public facilities, as end to discrimination and employment, decent housing, and education, and the right to vote. The march won endorsement of every major civil rights organization. ( Englebert Pg 80) However, the plan had one flaw, and President Kennedy addressed it. President Kennedy requested thirty civil rights leaders for a conference at the White House, and tried to persuade them out of the march, because
CP English 9
Mrs. Gardner
10 December 2012
The March on Washington
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom occurred in Washington D.C on the 28th of August, 1963. Attended by some 250,000 people, it was the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation’s capital, and one of the first to have extensive television coverage.( Source 3) The march started because of employment discrimination against African-Americans who were forced into lower paying positions,
Labor leaders and elder statesmen’s of the civil rights movement A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin had initially planned a march in 1941. Directors of the Major Civil Rights Organization went to work on behalf of the proposed legislation. In the political sense, the march was organized by coalition of organizations and their leaders including: Randolph who was chosen as the titular head of the march, James Farmer (president of the Congress of Racial Equality ), John Lewis ( chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) , Martin Luther King, Jr. (president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference), Roy Wilkins (president of the NAACP), Whitney Young (president of the National Urban League). ( Source 3) They determined that the most efficient strategy would be a public show of support in the nation’s capital.
In the spring of 1963, Randolph revived his proposal on the march. The “March for Jobs and Freedom,” as it was called, demanded desegregation of public facilities, as end to discrimination and employment, decent housing, and education, and the right to vote. The march won endorsement of every major civil rights organization. ( Englebert Pg 80) However, the plan had one flaw, and President Kennedy addressed it. President Kennedy requested thirty civil rights leaders for a conference at the White House, and tried to persuade them out of the march, because
Bibliography: 1. Englebert, Phillis, American civil rights almanac- Volume 1. 1999, Boston. 2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_on_Washington_for_Jobs_and_Freedom 3.http://www.infoplease.com/spot/marchonwashington.html 4. http://uquoted.com/the-march-on-washington-affirmed-our-values-as-a-people-equality-and-opportunity-for-all-forty-one-years-ago-during-a-time-of-segregation-these-were-an-ideal/