MARCH ON WASHINGTON ENDS WITH A DREAM
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The "March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom", attended by 250,000 people who gathered around the Lincoln Memorial, concluded today with an emotional & stirring address by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Bayard Rustin & Cleveland Robinson
March on Washington organizers
August 7, 1963
Library of Congress Photo
Dr. King said:
"Even though we face...difficulties, I still have a dream...that one day this nation will rise up & live out the true meaning of its creed 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal'.
When we allow freedom (to) ring....we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children....will...join hands & sing....'Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we're free at last.'"
After the event, civil rights leaders, including Dr. King & Roy Wilkins, met with President Kennedy at the White House who greeted them with the words: "I have a dream."*
*The March on Washington was initiated by A. Philip Randolph who had planned an earlier march in 1941.
Dr. King Gives "I Have a Dream" Speech
August 28, 1963
MAHALIA JACKSON ADVISES KING TO "TELL THEM ABOUT THE DREAM"
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asked the Queen of Gospel Music to sing "I've Been Buked & I've Been Scorned" before he spoke at the March on Washington today at the Lincoln Memorial.
Before she sang, however, Miss Jackson said to Dr. King: "Martin, tell them about the dream".*
*Dr. King had included the "I have a dream" theme in previous speeches & sermons but it was not included in his March on Washington address. He followed Mahalia Jackson's advice & ended his remarks with "I have a dream...".
Mahalia Jackson
Queen of Gospel Music
Photo by Carl Van Vechten (1962)
August 28, 1955
EMMETT TILL MURDERED IN MISSISSIPPI
Money, Mississippi (JFK+50) Emmett Till, African-American teenager from Chicago, Illinois, was brutally murdered in Money, Mississippi today & his body was dumped into the Tallahatchie River.
Till was in Mississippi visiting relatives & while at Bryan's Grocery & Meat Market in Money, according to witnesses, "flirted" with the store owner's wife who is white.*
*Emmett Till's corpse was recovered 3 days later & returned by the request of his mother to Chicago for burial. On September 23 an all-white jury found accused murderers J.W. Milam & Roy Bryant not guilty.
Remains of Bryant's Grocery
Money, Mississippi
Photo by WhisperToMe (2009)
"Twas down in Mississippi, not so long ago
When a young boy from Chicago
walked through a Southern door
This boy's fateful tragedy you should remember well
The color of his skin was black
and his name was Emmett Till
If you can't speak out against this kind of thing
A crime that's so unjust
Your eyes are filled with dead man's dirt
Your mind is filled with dust
Your arms & legs they must be in shackles & chains
And your blood it must refuse to flow
For you to let this human race
fall down so God-awful low."
"The Ballad of Emmett Till"
by Bob Dylan
August 28, 1961
JFK WELCOMES 1ST PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy welcomed the 1st group of Peace Corps volunteers to the White House today.
The President told the young men & women:
"You will be the personification of a special group of young Americans & if you can impress (with) your commitment to freedom (and) to your pride in your country....the influence may be far-reaching."
These 1st Peace Corps volunteers will go to Ghana & Tanganyika to teach high school students.
JFK Greets Peace Corps Volunteers
August 28, 1968
ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS & POLICE CLASH IN CHICAGO
Chicago, Illinois (JFK+50) Thousands of anti-Vietnam War protesters massed today in downtown Chicago as the 1968 Democratic National Convention is in session in the city.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, a supporter of Vice-President Hubert Humphrey, sent in police to restore order.
The police, however, used clubs & tear gas to get the job done. Many protesters were beaten, arrested & taken to jail.
All of this was broadcast on television while the protesters chanted: "The whole world is watching."*
*This event has been described as a "turning point in the cold war" as more & more Americans reject the necessity for fighting in Southeast Asia.
Police Use Clubs on Protesters
Chicago, Illinois (1968)
August 28, 1917
SUFFRAGISTS ARRESTED AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Women suffragists gathered in front of the White House today in support of a constitutional amendment which would give women the right to vote.
President Woodrow Wilson, who has opposed such an amendment, drove out of the gates of the mansion today & tipped his hat to the suffragists.
Later, however, an altercation broke out between the suffragists & some bystanders who apparently resented the women's signs opposing the war (WWI).
Some of the suffragists were arrested & taken to jail.
Suffragists at the White House Gate
January 1917
