On August 28, 1963, over 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, the historic March on Washington unfolded on the National Mall. Washington, D.C., had never seen a demonstration of this magnitude. Approximately 250,000 people with the shared goal of achieving social justice gathered in the city. The eventful day included Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s delivery of his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial.
Formally called the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the demonstration came together through the efforts of Civil Rights leaders like A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, John Lewis, James L. Farmer Jr., and Dr. King. Organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) united to address the key political, social, and economic concerns facing the African American community at the time, including racial violence, labor exploitation, unemployment, and discrimination. Some historians even credit the 1963 March on Washington with pressing the issue of civil rights upon the Kennedy Administration and the eventual passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Sixty years later, as we celebrate the dreams fulfilled while honoring the dreams yet to be realized, we are reminded of — and grateful for — the tremendous impact you have had on the creation and initiatives of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Museum would not be what it is today without people like you who sharpen our vision and advance our mission. Because of the support of our friends, the Museum can share such iconic objects as Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, now on view in the Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation 1876-1968 Gallery, and allow visitors to listen to the voices of Civil Rights leaders recorded through our Civil Rights History Project.
As you pause to think about this momentous anniversary, we invite you to read more about the history and legacy of the March on Washington here.
