Aug. 28 marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. To commemorate the historic 1963 march, the AFL-CIO, in partnership with Union Plus, announced today a new Dreams of Jobs and Freedom Scholarship program.    

The scholarships will provide $5,000 each to at least 50 talented high school seniors—including those from union families—to help pay for the costs of higher education.

As working families celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington this Aug. 28, which accelerated the nation’s own march toward social and economic justice, it's important to note union members played a big role in spreading the message that social justice is economic justice. The march, which propelled the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, was conceptualized by labor leaders at the time—along with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—including, A. Philip Randolph, AFL-CIO vice president and president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and Bayard Rustin, field coordinator, who called for the march. Along with the leadership of Randolph and Rustin, the UAW, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and the Transport Workers (TWU) were instrumental in supporting the march.