In August of 1963, I was a little girl of 5 years old living in West Philadelphia with my mother, father, and sister. I didn’t realize it back then, but I learned in my 50s that my parents attended the March on Washington, when Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his famous “I Have A Dream” speech. I didn’t know they participated in the March because I don’t recall hearing them talk about it. I clearly remember the day that Dr. King was assassinated. It was a horrible day in American history. I remember it vividly because, on the date of Dr. King’s assassination, my parents were entertaining a couple of their married friends and their children at our home. I recall the women in the room hollering out as the news flashed across the back and white TV set we had in our living room. The women cried out. The men did too. I will never forget that day.
But I honestly don’t remember my folks talking about the great March on Washington. It was as I was working on writing my book about my experiences working in Black Radio–that I had a sit down with my Mom before she passed in 2017, and it was she who confirmed for me that my parents were there indeed on August 28, 1963. As she told me the story, my heart swelled with pride that my parents were activists, that they did care about the Civil Rights movements, and they were there in D.C. when Dr. King did his thing.
It made me feel very proud that my parents were there. They traveled by train to get there.
I traveled to our nation’s capitol several times over the years for the annual commemorative service marking the “I Have A Dream Speech.” The last time I went was for the 50th anniversary of the March, and I rode to D.C. on a Philly Freedom Riders Bus with Paula Peebles and Greg Brinkley leading the way. We dubbed ourselves the Philly Freedom Riders because we were all members of Rev. AL Sharpton’s National Action Network. We were members of the Philadelphia Chapter. At the time, Paula Peebles was the Chair of the Philly chapter, and Greg Brinkley was the President. It was a beautiful day. It was a peaceful day, and we accomplished what we went to D.C. to do, and that was to remind America of the greatness of Dr. King and to remind America that the Dream had still not been fulfilled.
In the year 2023, it’s as if the Dream Dr. King had is being dismantled brick by brick. If people like the Governor of Florida have their way, Blacks in America will be back under the ownership of white slave masters, or at least that is how it seems.
The original March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a massive protest march that occurred on August 28, 1963, when some 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The event aimed to draw attention to the continuing challenges and inequalities faced by African Americans a century after emancipation. It was also the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr.’s now-iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. The March was organized by a coalition of civil rights, and labor, and religious organizations under the theme of Jobs and Freedom. The event brought together hundreds of thousands of people who gathered peacefully on the National Mall, in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial, to demand equal justice for all citizens under the law.
On August 26, 2023, a Rally and March timed to the 60th anniversary of the historic March on Washington was held on the National Mall in Washington D.C. The event was attended by thousands of people who renewed the call for Dr. King’s ‘Dream.’ We can acknowledge that some progress has been made ,…
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