Thread by @JemarTisby

#OnThisDay: August 28, 1963- at least 200,000 people participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Their platform included voter protections and job training for the unemployed.
#MarchOnWashington

At the march, MLK gave his “I have a Dream” speech and spoke of the “fierce urgency of now.” Over half a century later and we must still respond to issues of racial injustice with a sense of urgency.

Organizers told John Lewis to tone down his rhetoric. He wanted to say..."We will march through the South, through the heart of Dixie, the way Sherman did. We shall pursue our own ‘scorched earth’ policy and burn Jim Crow to the ground — nonviolently."

A. Philip Randolph, a labor organizer had announced a massive March on Washington in the 1940s to pressure the White House to end discrimination in the defense industry. FDR relented and passed Executive Order 8802 to prohibit such discrimination.

For all the enthusiasm of the moment others were not so supportive. Malcolm X called it the “Farce on Washington.” And white people still harbored hatred. Just over two weeks later a white supremacist killed four Black girls in the 16th St. Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham.

Today we continue to protest for jobs and freedom. We continue to call this nation to make real the promises of democracy. We continue to respond to the fierce urgency of now.
#MarchOnWashington2020
@NAACP
naacp.org/marchonwashing…