A. Philip Randolph’s Proposal for a March on Washington
In 1962, dissatisfaction had become prevalent in black communities throughout the U.S. The African American unemployment rate was double the rate of whites and major civil rights reforms had not yet been achieved. Asa Philip Randolph, labor leader and founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, proposed the idea of a march "for jobs and freedom."This, however, was not the first time that Randolph had this idea. Many years earlier in 1941, Randolph had used the idea for a march on Washington to bring about change for blacks. He had given President Franklin Roosevelt an ultimatum: If Roosevelt failed to adequately address the issue of federal employment discrimination in the defense industry, a demonstration involving 100,000 blacks would ensue. Roosevelt was quick to respond with the creation of the Fair Employment Practice Committee. The march was halted.
Dissatisfaction in Black Communities
This time, the march would not be canceled. By 1963, frustration at racial inequity reached new heights in black communities. Demonstrations by blacks and confrontation with police had become increasingly commonplace. For instance, in Danville, Virginia police assaulted demonstrators with nightsticks and fire hoses and in Savannah, Georgia tear gas was used against demonstrators. By the end of the year, twenty thousand activists had been arrested and over nine hundred demonstrations had taken place in over one hundred cities.
Planning the March on Washington
It was under this context of civil unrest that that plans for the march took place. Randolph, along with Bayard Rustin, Whitney Young of the Urban League, SNCC’s John Lewis, Martin Luther King Jr., Roy Wilkins of the NAACP, and CORE’s James Farmer began planning for the march during the summer of 1963. They decided that the marchers would march in support of jobs, freedom, and President John F. Kennedy’s civil rights legislation. The march was planned for August 28, 1963.In anticipation of trouble, the Washington police force of 2,900 officers was restricted from taking leave and 1,000 police officers from neighboring cities were made available. However, the police would not be needed. The leaders had not only planned the march carefully, but had planned each speech with great care. As the nation would soon see, it was a march of peaceful protest.
The Monumental March on Washington
At eight o'clock on the morning of August 28, with only fifty people on the monument grounds, it appeared that the event would be smaller than anticipated. However, by ten o'clock there was a huge crowd of people. By the end of the day, 250,000 people had gathered. Participants included blacks, whites, actors, and about three hundred Congressional representatives.CBS provided continuous televised coverage of the march. When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began his "I Have a Dream" speech, NBC and ABC interrupted their programming to bring it live to viewers. King had originally planned to deliver a different speech, but in the middle of his planned address, he departed from his text. Although it was a speech he had given on many other occasions, to those who listened it was a powerful indictment of the injustices perpetuated against African Americans.
“I have a dream,” proclaimed King, “that one day, even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. 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.” Ultimately, proclaimed King at the end of his speech, he believed that one day blacks and whites would come together and sing the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”
John F. Kennedy Meets with the March on Washington Leaders
The march had been a peaceful and successful demonstration. By the end of the day, the five hundred-member clean-up crew had picked up every piece of garbage. Even President Kennedy was impressed with the march. The tone of the speeches had been moderate and he was impressed with King’s speech. “He’s damned good,” he had commented as he watched King.After the demonstration, King and the other leaders met with President Kennedy at the White House to discuss the current legislation. Kennedy assured them of his commitment to its passage, but also stated that he was concerned the bill would become a hard fought battle due to the lack of support by Republican senators. The leaders left the White House feeling certain of Kennedy’s support, but unsure when and whether the bill would pass.
In November 1963, Kennedy was assassinated. The passage of the bill, however, did not die with Kennedy. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law on July 2, 1964. The bill allocated power to the federal government to enforce school desegregation; it prohibited segregation in public places; and it established a Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity.
