50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

So much has been written about this march.  I hope you have been reading all the information or watching on TV.  As I write this I am listening to the live screening of the 50th Anniversary on the date August 28th.

As you may know I grew up in the north.  My father came from Wilmington North Carolina as a young man never went back.  He told me NEVER to go south.  I was afraid when I finally did go south, especially when I was in Mississippi.  I was very much afraid when I had to take a bus from Meridian MS to Jackson MS.  When the bus stopped at a small market for a rest stop I was surprised that I was allowed to use the ONLY rest room.

 People on the mall today are talking about taking buses from the south in 1963 and not being allowed to eat anywhere much less go to the bathroom.  When I heard that I was crying.  I have been writing my book about African American women chemists.  One woman that I have yet to interview, I met in Greensboro NC.  We went shopping in Macy's in downtown Greensboro.  She said that when she was young she NEVER went downtown because of the way she was treated.  Clerks would not allow them to try on clothing in the stores.  Some of my distant relatives were involved in the Woolworth sit in.  That Woolworth store is now a civil rights museum.

 

The following is an excerpt from a statement made  about the March, on Facebook by Michelle Alexander whose book we are reading:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Alexander/168304409924191

 

In my view, the most important lesson we can learn from Dr. King is not what he said at the March on Washington, but what he said and did after. In the years that followed, he did not play politics to see what crumbs a fundamentally corrupt system might toss to the beggars of justice. Instead he connected the dots and committed himself to building a movement that would shake the foundations of our economic and social order, so that the dream he preached in 1963 might one day be a reality for all. He said that nothing less than "a radical restructuring of society" could possibly ensure justice and dignity for all. He was right. I am still committed to building a movement to end mass incarceration, but I will not do it with blinders on. If all we do is end mass incarceration, this movement will not have gone nearly far enough. A new system of racial and social control will be born again, all because we did not do what King demanded we do: connect the dots between poverty, racism, militarism and materialism. I'm getting out of my lane. I hope you're already out of yours.

 

There was a PBS program about the 1963 March on Washington entitled "The March"  It first aired on Chanel 13 on August 27.  It will air again at 1:30 Saturday August 31.  Here is info about it.;

A remembrance of the 1963 March on Washington, the massive gathering in Washington, D.C., in support of racial and economic equality that is perhaps best known for Martin Luther King Jr.'s stirring "I Have a Dream" speech. The documentary details the behind-the-scenes story of the event, including how it almost didn't come to pass; features rare archival footage; and includes remarks from many participants, including Harry Belafonte, Rutha Mae Harris, Norman Hill and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)

 

More later.

Jeannette Brown

Christ Church Summit choir member