National Museum of African American History and Culture Recognizes the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington

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National Museum of African American History and Culture Recognizes the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington

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The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) invites visitors to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington by experiencing Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech” on loan from Villanova University for a limited time, Aug. 7–Sept. 18, in the “Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom” gallery.

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Women played a vital role in organizing the march but they were mostly excluded from the official program. However women activists like Anna Arnold Hedgeman managed to convince Wilkins to include a female speaker. Only one woman spoke: Daisy Bates, NAACP chapter president and an advisor to the Little Rock Nine. Activist and entertainer Lena Horne yelled a single word into the microphone: “Freedom!”

The March on Washington remains a significant event in American history and resonates with people regardless of their race, nationality, religion and political affiliation. While the march demanded equal rights and human dignity, it is important to acknowledge that issues of inequality still persist for women and African Americans today.

The March on Washington took place on August 28, 1963, exactly 100 years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation declared that all enslaved people in the Confederate states were free, but a century later, full freedom had not been achieved for African Americans. The murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi in 1955, and the acquittal of his killers, served as reminders of the second-class citizenship that African Americans still faced. Till's death was a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement, which fought for racial equality.

Officially known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, this demonstration was made possible through the collaborative efforts of civil rights leaders such as Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, John Lewis, A. Philip Randolph, and King, among others. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Congress of Racial Equality, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) joined forces to address critical political, social and economic issues African Americans experienced at that time, including racial violence, segregated housing and schools, labor exploitation, and unemployment.

Many historians believe that the March on Washington was a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement. The march put pressure on the Kennedy administration to act on civil rights, and it helped to pave the way for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The march also concluded with Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, which is considered one of the most important speeches in American history.

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08

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08

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2023

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12

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am

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National Museum of African American History and Culture

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https://nmaahc.si.edu/about/news/national-museum-african-american-history-and-culture-recognizes-60th-anniversary-march

Referenced by

60th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech

News

On Aug. 28, 1963, a crowd of a quarter-million people came together on the National Mall with a shared purpose of striving for social justice, the end of segregation, fair wages, economic opportunities and the rights of full citizenship.

News

The March on Washington remains a significant event in American history and resonates with people regardless of their race, nationality, religion and political affiliation. While the march demanded equal rights and human dignity, it is important to acknowledge that issues of inequality still persist for women and African Americans today.

News