Thousands of people came from near and far on Wednesday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. Rain or shine, dignitaries, celebrities, members of Congress and union leaders all came together to not only commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, but to also celebrate the progress this country has made and acknowledge the work that still needs to be done.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued the following statement on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. See the statement after the jump.
In August 1963, as was the case 100 years earlier when the cemetery for the heroes of Gettysburg was dedicated, many speeches were delivered; but one stood out as a galvanizing moment to redefine and repurpose a movement. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, delivered in November 1863, clearly defined the issue of the Civil War to be whether states’ rights could trample the rights of anyone. Similarly, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech came to define the civil rights movement of a century later. It has come to be interpreted as a call for a colorblind society, instead of a call to end racial injustice. His vision was more powerful than the sanguine, “not judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” interpretation that has seen right-wing conservatives quoting Dr. King’s speech to justify racial disparities; in the same way that tea party members embrace Lincoln’s “government of the people,” to somehow mean no government at all.
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.
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