Recognizing the 48th Anniversary of the March on Washington

Floor Speech

* Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, August 28, was the 48th anniversary of the historic March on Washington, the most famous act of peaceful protest in our nation's history. I rise to pay tribute to the great Americans who conceived, organized, executed and participated in the March for Jobs and Freedom. That march was a seminal event in our nation's history and awakened Americans of goodwill to the urgent need to rededicate ourselves to the great unfinished task of making real the promise of America for all Americans, especially African Americans.

* The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a nonviolent, political demonstration that advocated for civil rights and economic justice for African Americans. The march and rally took place on the National Mall in Washington DC on August 28, 1963, the 100th anniversary of the issuance of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.

* Mr. Speaker, 1963 was a year of racial strife and unrest, preceded by centuries of legalized discrimination and inequality against African Americans, who faced higher levels of unemployment, lower wages, substandard housing and inferior educational opportunities.

* The march was organized by a coalition of religious, labor and civil rights organizations, including the ``Big Six'': Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); the National Urban League; and the International Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

* In May 1963, A. Phillip Randolph, President of the International Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, wrote to Interior Secretary Stewart Udall requesting a permit for a march culminating at the Lincoln Memorial that fall. As preparations for the march on the mall went underway, the list of organizations participating in and sponsoring the event expanded significantly.

* On the day of the march, a quarter of a million people from all over the nation gathered at the Washington Monument and marched together to Lincoln's Memorial, where the crowd listened to musical performances, engaged in prayer and listened to inspirational speeches encouraging the crowd to stand up for their civil rights.

* The diversity of those in attendance was reflected in the event's speakers and performers including singers such as Bob Dylan and Marian Anderson and actors Harry Belafonte, Ossie Davis, and Ruby Dee. Attendees included people of all genders, races, religions, and nationalities. Among the luminaries who addressed the gathering was John Lewis, who was then the 23-year-old Chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and now one of the most beloved members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

* It was at the March on Washington that the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous, ``I Have a Dream'' speech which is universally considered by historians and scholars as one of the greatest speeches in American history. Beneath the gaze of President Lincoln, Dr. King challenged the Nation to make real the promise of America for all Americans and shared his dream that his ``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.''

* The March on Washington was a defining moment of the rapidly expanding Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and is credited with galvanizing the federal government to enact the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

* The March on Washington demonstrated the power of non violent direct action to effect social and political change. An enduring legacy of the March on Washington is that it was the model and inspiration for future social movements around the world, from Eastern Europe to South Africa to the Arab Spring uprisings witnessed earlier this year.

* Therefore, I rise with pride and gratitude for the brave and courageous men and women who worked to organize the March on Washington. They fought, struggled and risked their lives in order to ensure a better nation for future generations. The leaders of the Civil Rights Movement and the March on Washington will be forever remembered for their courageous leadership and sacrifices that made our country better.

* But, the best way to pay tribute to these heroes is to continue the fight for jobs and freedom. With the national unemployment rate above 9 percent--and 15.9 percent for African Americans--joblessness in America has reached crisis proportions requiring dramatic action to put people back to work. Making sure that all Americans can find jobs that pay enough to raise a family, own a home, educate their children, and care for their parents is the pressing challenge of our time and is the unfinished work to which we must rededicate ourselves today.

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