ThoughtGallery.org > 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

We all know that Martin Luther King made his “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington, just over 50 years ago. But the march was much more than that speech.

All three TV networks covered it live (using the exotic new Telstar satellite). John Lewis, then a key civil rights leader and now a veteran Congressman from Georgia, was the youngest speaker on the program; he criticized the Kennedy Administration for not doing enough to protect civil rights, and cautious March leaders demanded he cut the sharpest parts of his speech. Harry Belafonte was one of the organizers of the March and provided financial support for the movement at crucial moments. And the March helped lead to passage of the Civil Rights Act and later the Voting Rights Act.

Now that the Supreme Court has cut away key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, how do these two veterans perceive the longterm impact of the March? And is it time for another one?











When: Wed., Sep. 25, 2013 at 8:15 pm
Where: The 92nd Street Y, New York
1395 Lexington Ave.
212-415-5500
Price: $29
Buy tickets/get more info now
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We all know that Martin Luther King made his “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington, just over 50 years ago. But the march was much more than that speech.

All three TV networks covered it live (using the exotic new Telstar satellite). John Lewis, then a key civil rights leader and now a veteran Congressman from Georgia, was the youngest speaker on the program; he criticized the Kennedy Administration for not doing enough to protect civil rights, and cautious March leaders demanded he cut the sharpest parts of his speech. Harry Belafonte was one of the organizers of the March and provided financial support for the movement at crucial moments. And the March helped lead to passage of the Civil Rights Act and later the Voting Rights Act.

Now that the Supreme Court has cut away key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, how do these two veterans perceive the longterm impact of the March? And is it time for another one?

Buy tickets/get more info now