by Stacy M. Brown and Hamil R. Harris<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the anniversary of the iconic March on Washington, civil rights leaders and a diverse coalition of allies convened at the historic gathering site to honor the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and advocate for renewed commitment to social justice. The event\u2013 convened by King\u2019s Drum Major Institute and the National Action Network (NAN)\u2013\u00a0 aimed to rekindle the spirit of the 1963 march, which played a pivotal role in advancing civil rights and voting rights legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The original March on Washington, a cornerstone of the civil rights movement, drew approximately 250,000 participants in 1963. Its influence paved the way for significant legislative milestones, including the passage of federal civil and voting rights laws in the 1960s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The erosion of voting rights, recent Supreme Court rulings that impact affirmative action and abortion rights, and the rise of hate and violence against marginalized communities, however, punctuate the current commemoration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of the civil rights icon, along with his sister Bernice King, visited their father\u2019s monument in Washington on the eve of the event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bernice King shared her reflections, stating, \u201cI see a man still standing in authority and saying, \u2018We\u2019ve still got to get this right.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing the urgency of the occasion, King III emphasized, \u201cThis is not a traditional commemoration. This really is a rededication.\u201d Among the featured speakers was Ambassador Andrew Young, a close adviser to Dr. King during the original march and a key figure in the civil rights movement. Leaders from the NAACP and the National Urban League also delivered impactful remarks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arndrea Waters King, King III\u2019s wife, also addressed the tens of thousands on the mall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are here to liberate the soul of the nation, the soul of democracy from those forces who want to have us all go backwards and perish rather than go forward as sisters and brothers,\u201d she stated. \u201cWe will never betray those who marched for us, fought for us, lived for us, died for us. We are the children and grandchildren of their struggles, and we will be worthy of their sacrifices.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York also spoke during the event.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here today to fight for voting rights,\u201d urged Jeffries, the first Black congressperson to lead a major political party in Congress. \u201cWe\u2019re here today to fight for civil rights. We\u2019re here today to fight for reproductive rights. We\u2019re here today to fight for workers\u2019 rights,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ahead of the event, several organizers engaged in discussions with Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the civil rights division. The talks encompassed crucial issues like voting rights, policing reform, and addressing redlining practices.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The commemoration served as a prelude to the 60th anniversary of the original March on Washington, which President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris observed on Monday, Aug. 28. There, Biden and Harris engaged with organizers of the 1963 march as well as members of the King family, aiming to honor the legacy of the event and its enduring impact on the struggle for civil rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the Rev. Al Sharpton, founder of the National Action Network, reflected on the continuous observance of March on Washington anniversaries, he recalled a promise he made to King\u2019s now late widow Coretta Scott King. Twenty-three years ago, she urged him and Martin Luther King III to continue the movement\u2019s legacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bernice King, CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, acknowledged the weariness that can accompany the enduring fight for civil rights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She invoked her mother\u2019s wisdom, stating, \u201cMother said, struggle is a never-ending process\u2026 Vigilance is the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the successful and inspirational 1963 March on Washington, the challenges the civil rights movement faced weren\u2019t confined to the past; history revealed moments of triumph and tragedy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following Dr. King\u2019s landmark \u201cI Have a Dream\u201d speech, at the March on Washington in 1963, dark incidents such as the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham and the abduction and murder of civil rights workers in Mississippi underscored the ongoing struggle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those tragedies spurred the passage of pivotal legislation, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite progress since 1963, this year, equity, voting rights, women\u2019s rights, economic and climate justice were among the many topics emphasized during the march. The plaza of the Lincoln Memorial was a diverse quilt of people from many walks of life, who showed up to witness history and make their voices heard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the crowd were two women sisters who were connected by blood and the colors of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a historical event,\u201d said Clara Elmore Baine, standing next to her sister Irene Elmore. The sisters came from South Carolina and Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am here to represent Delta Sigma Theta because we have a big interest in voting rights,\u201d Clara Elmore continued. \u201cWe have to make a difference now because most of the people here today were not here years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Notably absent from the program were several individuals who have long served as freedom fighters, such as Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. and the Rev. Peter Johnson, a close aide to civil rights giants former U.S. Congressman, Ambassador and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, another prominent civil rights-era figure, wasn\u2019t expected to attend due to ongoing health concerns. However other living civil rights leaders, despite their significant contributions to the movement, did not speak during the commemoration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some longtime freedom fighters noted that excluding certain longtime leaders sheds light on the challenge of preserving historical continuity and recognizing all those who played a role. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chavis was spotted among the crowd giving a hug to Larry Hirsh, a Jewish man, who was also at the March in 1963.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were here 60 years ago, and we were both 15,\u201d Hirsh said to Chavis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs I reflect back on the last 60 years there is a tendency to underestimate the progress we have made,\u201d Chavis told the Informer. \u201cWe still have problems, racism is still alive, antisemitism is still alive and hatred is still alive. However we have made significant progress. C.T. Vivian defined the movement as \u2018people moving,\u2019 and here we are, 60 years later, still moving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are a much more diverse nation than we were 60 years ago,\u201d Chavis added. \u201cOverall I don\u2019t see incremental progress I see substantive progress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t live in the past, you have to learn from the past,\u201d Chavis emphasized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
America\u2019s \u201cBlack Attorney General,\u201d civil rights lawyer Ben Crump embraced his hard-earned moniker, whipping the crowd into a frenzy by insisting that he would fight \u201cuntil hell freezes over.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs your attorney general, I declare now more than ever, that we must be unapologetic defenders of Black life, liberty, and humanity,\u201d Crump remarked. \u201cJust like they try to ban our Black history, we must tell them without Black history, you would not have American history. Just as the fight for the families of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Tyre Nichols and so many others, Americans, [we] must now fight for Black literature and culture.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Rev Jamal Bryant, pastor of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church attended the march with plenty of freedom fighting in him. He was unapologetic in his criticism of politicians and the way some leaders are contributing to systemic racism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you want to put somebody on a bus it should be Ted Cruz for putting Black and brown people under the bus,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cWe came today to serve an indictment on Clarence Thomas. He is not worthy of Thurgood Marshall\u2019s shoes. His wife is an unindicted co-conspirator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTwenty-five billion is getting ready to go to the Ukraine, but not anybody is saying anything about what is going on in Somalia, in Niger, in Congo,\u201d Bryant added. \u201cThere needs to be an indictment against record companies who try to sweep away conscious hip-hop.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In terms of progress, Bryant said, \u201cWe lasted through the school-to-prison pipeline, we lasted through Donald Trump, we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors who could not stop in hotels, could not eat in restaurants, but we come now, not just from Morehouse, Hampton and Howard, but we come now from John Hopkins, and Yale and Pittsburgh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSixty years later I don\u2019t want to be here celebrating,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n