The March on Washington, 1963- Nicola Sills

The March on Washington, 1963

On the 28^th August 1963, roughly 200,000 African Americans marched alongside thousands of white men and women to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.,[1] in order to demand civil and economic rights for African Americans, as part of the civil rights struggle.[2]

The phenomenon of marching on Washington was not a new one, but in fact was a long American tradition.[3] However, this one was particularly significant because of the number of people, being the largest civil rights demonstration in the country, broadcast to millions more through international coverage,[4] but also because it was 100 years since the Emancipation Proclamation was signed,[5] which is why the Lincoln Memorial was decided: as a symbolic significance.[6] The marchers came from all over the country, on foot, by private cars, on planes and on trains,[7] as a way to protest African American treatment at the hands of those wielding firehoses, dogs, violence and arrest.[8] Protestors argued that the United States still faced a racial crisis, despite it being 100 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, 175 years since the adoption of the Constitution, and 173 years since the adoption of the Bill of Rights.[9]

During the early years of the Cold War, racial discrimination was described as America’s ‘Achilles Heel’, with the news blanketed by reports of post-war lynchings and segregation for the world’s press to see, which led to US allies questioning if democracy was really the best societal system, if these acts were happening under it.[10] For these reasons, as the activists prepared to march on Washington, Americans in Paris and other places around the world began to mobilise as well,[11] in a display of solidarity, for those who had been mistreated for centuries.

The day was expected to bring attention to the movement and increase pressure on the government to enact social reform, with the ultimate goal being to get Kennedy’s support on a meaningful Civil Rights Bill.[12] However, from the other point of view, violence was expected, though nothing happened and it ended up being a peaceful event.[13] The day ended with Martin Luther King giving a dramatic, and arguably most influential speech, in a truly monumental moment for civil rights, despite there being more struggles to come.[14] That said, the event led to the Civil Rights Acts in 1964 and 1965.[15]

---

[1] James J. Hayden, “Correspondence: Civil Rights: March on Washington,” Social Science vol.38, no.4 (1963): 245.

[2] Susan Pitts Santoli and Paige Vitulli, “Examining the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom through Primary Sources,” Black History Bulletin vol.75, no.2 (2012): 7.

[3] Mary L. Dudziak, “The 1963 March on Washington: At Home and Abroad,” Revue française d’études américaines no.107 (2006): 61.

[4] Susan Pitts Santoli and Paige Vitulli, “Examining the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom through Primary Sources,” Black History Bulletin vol.75, no.2 (2012): 7.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Mary L. Dudziak, “The 1963 March on Washington: At Home and Abroad,” Revue française d’études américaines no.107 (2006): 63.

[7] James J. Hayden, “Correspondence: Civil Rights: March on Washington,” Social Science vol.38, no.4 (1963): 245.

[8] Eugene Carson Blake, “In His Own Words: Address at the March on Washington, 1963,” The Journal of Presbyterian History (1997-) vol.76, no.4 (1998): 290.

[9] Eugene Carson Blake, “In His Own Words: Address at the March on Washington, 1963,” The Journal of Presbyterian History (1997-) vol.76, no.4 (1998): 290.

[10] Mary L. Dudziak, “The 1963 March on Washington: At Home and Abroad,” Revue française d’études américaines no.107 (2006): 62.

[11] Mary L. Dudziak, “The 1963 March on Washington: At Home and Abroad,” Revue française d’études américaines no.107 (2006): 61.

[12] Mary L. Dudziak, “The 1963 March on Washington: At Home and Abroad,” Revue française d’études américaines no.107 (2006): 63.

[13] Susan Pitts Santoli and Paige Vitulli, “Examining the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom through Primary Sources,” Black History Bulletin vol.75, no.2 (2012): 7.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid.