The 60th anniversary of the March on Washington For Jobs And Freedom will bring together a gathering of Black civil rights leaders and a diverse interfaith coalition of allies, brought together by The Drum Major Institute and the National Action Network.
On August 28, 1963, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led a historic march to the Lincoln Memorial’s steps, orchestrated by Bayard Rustin. At this location, Rev. King delivered his iconic “I Have A Dream” speech. Set for August 26, the event, as reported by the Associated Press, will feature Ambassador Andrew Young as a prominent speaker. Martin Luther King III conveyed to the Associated Press that this occasion is not a conventional commemoration, but rather a profound re-commitment, underlining the transformative power of collective action.
Ahead of the march, several leaders of the commemorative march met with Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General Kirsten Clarke on Aug. 25 to discuss issues including voting rights, policing, and redlining. On the actual date of the original march, which falls on Monday, President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris are scheduled to meet with organizers of the original March on Washington. According to a White House official, Dr. King’s three living children have also been invited to meet with Biden and Harris.
Rev. Al Sharpton, the leader of the National Action Network, sees the urgency in the moment as he told the Associated Press, “I never thought that 23 years later, Martin and I, with Arndrea, would be doing a march and we’d have less (civil rights protections) than we had in 2000. We’re fulfilling the assignment Mrs. King gave us,” Sharpton explained. “We are having to march, saying we can’t go backwards, and we’ve got to go forward.”
Sharpton was introduced at the 37th anniversary of the March on Washington in 2000 by Coretta Scott King, and according to Sharpton, Scott King gave him a charge to keep the legacy of the march alive. To that end, Sharpton plans to conduct a voting rights tour in states that are trying to make it harder for Black people to vote. He is enlisting the help of prominent Black entrepreneurs to create a fund that will be used to finance responses to conservative attacks on diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., is the CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center For Nonviolent Social Change. The organization was founded by her mother following the assassination of King Jr. in 1968. King spoke to the Associated Press and impressed her thoughts about those who say that the leaders of her father’s generation didn’t ask for enough. “Freedom is never really won – you earn it and win it in every generation. Vigilance is the answer. We have to always remember, it’s difficult and dark right now, but a dawn is coming. Unfortunately, we’re living in a time when there’s a younger generation who believes that my daddy’s generation, and those of us who came after, didn’t get enough done,” King explained. “And I want them to understand, you are benefiting and this is the way you’re benefiting.”
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