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| March on Washington anniversary: 'Such struggles are never over' | March on Washington anniversary: 'Such struggles are never over' |
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| On August 28 1963, roughly 200,000 people traveled to Washington DC to march for jobs and civil rights, and listened as Martin Luther King delivered his "I have a dream" speech. | On August 28 1963, roughly 200,000 people traveled to Washington DC to march for jobs and civil rights, and listened as Martin Luther King delivered his "I have a dream" speech. |
| The 50th anniversary of the march commemorates progress made by the US civil rights movement, but also shines a light on a wealth and jobs disparity between white and black Americans that continues to exist. | The 50th anniversary of the march commemorates progress made by the US civil rights movement, but also shines a light on a wealth and jobs disparity between white and black Americans that continues to exist. |
| We asked Guardian readers to share photos and stories of the US civil rights movement, and what it means to them today. Some readers attended the march as young children, while others watched from small towns or other countries. Some are black. Others are white. Everyone remarked on progress made since the 1960s, but also acknowledged that Americans have a way to go to realize true equality. | We asked Guardian readers to share photos and stories of the US civil rights movement, and what it means to them today. Some readers attended the march as young children, while others watched from small towns or other countries. Some are black. Others are white. Everyone remarked on progress made since the 1960s, but also acknowledged that Americans have a way to go to realize true equality. |
| Navigate their stories: | Navigate their stories: |
| A group of men who were part of the Congress for Racial Equality (Core) in the 1960’s share their memories of the time. Stories as told to Katie Rogers and David Dennis Jr: | A group of men who were part of the Congress for Racial Equality (Core) in the 1960’s share their memories of the time. Stories as told to Katie Rogers and David Dennis Jr: |
| David Dennis | David Dennis |
| I'm from northern Louisiana, born there on a plantation and part of a sharecropper's family. My first real involvement with the movement was when I went to college. I went to college at Dillard University. That was 1960. When I arrived on campus, some students were in jail for sitting in. I was one of the first in my family to graduate from high school so I thought of it as an opportunity be somebody. I participated in my first sit-in in the fall of 1960. I got arrested and from there, the group I was part of joined a chapter of Core. That group was the hoist group for the freedom riders. | I'm from northern Louisiana, born there on a plantation and part of a sharecropper's family. My first real involvement with the movement was when I went to college. I went to college at Dillard University. That was 1960. When I arrived on campus, some students were in jail for sitting in. I was one of the first in my family to graduate from high school so I thought of it as an opportunity be somebody. I participated in my first sit-in in the fall of 1960. I got arrested and from there, the group I was part of joined a chapter of Core. That group was the hoist group for the freedom riders. |
| There were two groups for the rides out of Nashville and there was a group in New Orleans. We decided to meet the group in Montgomery, so we were part of two buses that left going to Jackson. I was on the first bus. After that, what I did was a dropped out of college and became a field organiser for Core and went back home to Shreveport and organise there with sit-ins and voter registration drives. | There were two groups for the rides out of Nashville and there was a group in New Orleans. We decided to meet the group in Montgomery, so we were part of two buses that left going to Jackson. I was on the first bus. After that, what I did was a dropped out of college and became a field organiser for Core and went back home to Shreveport and organise there with sit-ins and voter registration drives. |
| We organised a group of students out of Southern University in Baton Rouge. There were arrests in December 1961 and the group of us spent Christmas and New Year in jail in Baton Rouge. We came out of that and organised around voter registration in the area. The fact that's ironic is that a group of us in Shreveport were arrested and put into jail on the same day that Barack Obama was born. Some of us have gotten together and have had discussions about how ironic that was. | We organised a group of students out of Southern University in Baton Rouge. There were arrests in December 1961 and the group of us spent Christmas and New Year in jail in Baton Rouge. We came out of that and organised around voter registration in the area. The fact that's ironic is that a group of us in Shreveport were arrested and put into jail on the same day that Barack Obama was born. Some of us have gotten together and have had discussions about how ironic that was. |
| On the day of the march, my connection there is I did not go to it. We organised demonstrations in Jackson with a lot of students from local schools -- there were a little over 300 of them. A warrant was put out for me for 300 counts of contributing to the delinquency of minors. During the march I was hiding out in Canton, Mississippi, at the Core freedom house there. | On the day of the march, my connection there is I did not go to it. We organised demonstrations in Jackson with a lot of students from local schools -- there were a little over 300 of them. A warrant was put out for me for 300 counts of contributing to the delinquency of minors. During the march I was hiding out in Canton, Mississippi, at the Core freedom house there. |
| I was arrested 33 times. Part of those were from demonstrations and sit-ins and things of that nature, being a part of marches and picketing. In Shreveport, we were having a rally in a church in October 1961. It was firebombed. The next day, about five to six of us were arrested for arson for firebombing a church that we were inside at the time. It was those kinds of charges. I was speaking at the time it was firebombed. Some of the charges, you went to court. Some of them, the charges were dropped or drawn out for long periods of time. | I was arrested 33 times. Part of those were from demonstrations and sit-ins and things of that nature, being a part of marches and picketing. In Shreveport, we were having a rally in a church in October 1961. It was firebombed. The next day, about five to six of us were arrested for arson for firebombing a church that we were inside at the time. It was those kinds of charges. I was speaking at the time it was firebombed. Some of the charges, you went to court. Some of them, the charges were dropped or drawn out for long periods of time. |
| The civil rights movement sort of gives perspective about human beings, I guess. An understanding of how we are in the world, and what makes us tick. If you look at racism and discrimination in this country, it never made any sense. It doesn’t make sense if people sit down and talk about it. This is my third marriage, and there was a time in my life where you could not look at or talk to a white person. You wouldn’t dream of being in the same place. I am married to a white person and we all have our technicolor family get-togethers, and they treat each other like brother and sister. | The civil rights movement sort of gives perspective about human beings, I guess. An understanding of how we are in the world, and what makes us tick. If you look at racism and discrimination in this country, it never made any sense. It doesn’t make sense if people sit down and talk about it. This is my third marriage, and there was a time in my life where you could not look at or talk to a white person. You wouldn’t dream of being in the same place. I am married to a white person and we all have our technicolor family get-togethers, and they treat each other like brother and sister. |
| At the same time, there’s such a disconnect. There are so many people in this country now who have no understanding of this struggle that existed just a few years ago. This 50th anniversary is a good opportunity to begin to expose that. People are going to have to discuss race in order to resolve the issues of race in this country. | At the same time, there’s such a disconnect. There are so many people in this country now who have no understanding of this struggle that existed just a few years ago. This 50th anniversary is a good opportunity to begin to expose that. People are going to have to discuss race in order to resolve the issues of race in this country. |
| Willie Bradford | Willie Bradford |
| I was a student at Southern University in Baton Rouge. Dave had gotten us all together to start a Core movement in the city and our job was to get people registered to vote. The people at Core got together and chartered a bus for us. | I was a student at Southern University in Baton Rouge. Dave had gotten us all together to start a Core movement in the city and our job was to get people registered to vote. The people at Core got together and chartered a bus for us. |
| We have a busload of students from Plaquemine parish and Southern University. We was a lot of concern on that bus because we were going to cross through Bogalousa and there was a lot of disdain from that area. I think the bus driver – who was white – told the people in the town we were coming and the looks we got as we passed through the city were really telling. I also remember a stench from the bathroom because the bus driver didn’t bother emptying the sewage for most of the trip. We were all so young – the youngest were about 14 or 15 and the oldest were 19 and 20 – so we were probably too young to even care. | We have a busload of students from Plaquemine parish and Southern University. We was a lot of concern on that bus because we were going to cross through Bogalousa and there was a lot of disdain from that area. I think the bus driver – who was white – told the people in the town we were coming and the looks we got as we passed through the city were really telling. I also remember a stench from the bathroom because the bus driver didn’t bother emptying the sewage for most of the trip. We were all so young – the youngest were about 14 or 15 and the oldest were 19 and 20 – so we were probably too young to even care. |
| When we finally got to DC, we joined some other Core members. We had hoped to get 100,000 people there and were shocked that there were apparently close to 250,000. I’d heard that Dr King would speak from a prepared text but it was clear that prepared text was put down and he started speaking from his head. It was remarkable. | When we finally got to DC, we joined some other Core members. We had hoped to get 100,000 people there and were shocked that there were apparently close to 250,000. I’d heard that Dr King would speak from a prepared text but it was clear that prepared text was put down and he started speaking from his head. It was remarkable. |
| Don Hubbard | Don Hubbard |
| I was a member of Core at the time of the march being run out of New Orleans. I had been arrested on loitering charges and the last time I was arrested I was on the front porch of the house my father owned. The police arrested me right there for loitering on my own front porch. I had a family and didn’t want them to hear that I’d been shot nine times in the back out of self defense. | I was a member of Core at the time of the march being run out of New Orleans. I had been arrested on loitering charges and the last time I was arrested I was on the front porch of the house my father owned. The police arrested me right there for loitering on my own front porch. I had a family and didn’t want them to hear that I’d been shot nine times in the back out of self defense. |
| So I got my seaman papers and joined the merchant marines headed for Russia. I was on a ship leaving Galveston, Texas, when I saw the march. I cried. There was a lot of discussion as to if people would actually show up and I was amazed and how they filled up the city. I befriended a few Russians on my trip and they had all seen the march. They knew about Emmett Till and MLK and things that happened in America. The trips would last three or four months, then I’d come home and help out with Core for three or four months and leave again. | So I got my seaman papers and joined the merchant marines headed for Russia. I was on a ship leaving Galveston, Texas, when I saw the march. I cried. There was a lot of discussion as to if people would actually show up and I was amazed and how they filled up the city. I befriended a few Russians on my trip and they had all seen the march. They knew about Emmett Till and MLK and things that happened in America. The trips would last three or four months, then I’d come home and help out with Core for three or four months and leave again. |
| The march was another phase of the struggle. Once it was over, things had to continue. | The march was another phase of the struggle. Once it was over, things had to continue. |
| The man in this photo was Marlon D. Green, the son of a cook who grew up in Jim Crow Arkansas. He was at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 1963, having just fought his own six-year Civil Rights battle to obtain employment as a commercial pilot. The Tuskegee Airmen and other pilots trained in the military had been unable to obtain employment as commercial pilots when they left the service. Green was able to use new Civil Rights laws to challenge Continental Airlines in court, which had refused to hire him in 1957 even though (with 9 years of military training) he was the most qualified of a cohort of pilots they interviewed. The case went up to the U.S. Supreme Court, and was decided in Green's favor in April 1963. After many years of unemployment, the publicity for the case quickly brought Green a job offer, flying for the Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Floyd E. Dominy. Dominy's work often brought my father to Washington, and he was able to stay over on August 28 to attend the March. This photo shows him with his plane in Washington, one week before the March. | The man in this photo was Marlon D. Green, the son of a cook who grew up in Jim Crow Arkansas. He was at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 1963, having just fought his own six-year Civil Rights battle to obtain employment as a commercial pilot. The Tuskegee Airmen and other pilots trained in the military had been unable to obtain employment as commercial pilots when they left the service. Green was able to use new Civil Rights laws to challenge Continental Airlines in court, which had refused to hire him in 1957 even though (with 9 years of military training) he was the most qualified of a cohort of pilots they interviewed. The case went up to the U.S. Supreme Court, and was decided in Green's favor in April 1963. After many years of unemployment, the publicity for the case quickly brought Green a job offer, flying for the Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Floyd E. Dominy. Dominy's work often brought my father to Washington, and he was able to stay over on August 28 to attend the March. This photo shows him with his plane in Washington, one week before the March. |
| Green had fought his fight against Continental alone, aided only by his wife and a small cohort of supporters, including his lawyer who donated much of his time. The experience of attending the March, with 250,000 people, allowed him to experience viscerally the connection of his own painful struggle against discrimination and that of the nation. Marlon Green was my father, and I attended to 20th anniversary March with him in 1983. | Green had fought his fight against Continental alone, aided only by his wife and a small cohort of supporters, including his lawyer who donated much of his time. The experience of attending the March, with 250,000 people, allowed him to experience viscerally the connection of his own painful struggle against discrimination and that of the nation. Marlon Green was my father, and I attended to 20th anniversary March with him in 1983. |
| Sent via GuardianWitness | Sent via GuardianWitness |
| By MHGreen | By MHGreen |
| Kate Gibbons: 'There were more people than I had ever seen' | Kate Gibbons: 'There were more people than I had ever seen' |
| I marched as a 14-year-old with my mother. My father, as a naval officer, could not attend. The day was very hot. It began in a church with services. We joined many other Unitarians and marched down the mall; sat and listened. Although we were very far from the Lincoln Memorial, I am still proud to have been there. | I marched as a 14-year-old with my mother. My father, as a naval officer, could not attend. The day was very hot. It began in a church with services. We joined many other Unitarians and marched down the mall; sat and listened. Although we were very far from the Lincoln Memorial, I am still proud to have been there. |
| My parents were white; both were from Scranton, Pennsylvania. My mother was always politically active. In 1958 in Virginia the laws included whites-only water fountains and school segregation. My parents taught us these laws were wrong and needed to be changed. | My parents were white; both were from Scranton, Pennsylvania. My mother was always politically active. In 1958 in Virginia the laws included whites-only water fountains and school segregation. My parents taught us these laws were wrong and needed to be changed. |
| I remember that there was a lot of fear in the suburbs of Washington DC about the civil rights march. My mother wanted to attend the march. I knew I wanted to go. | I remember that there was a lot of fear in the suburbs of Washington DC about the civil rights march. My mother wanted to attend the march. I knew I wanted to go. |
| What I remember the most was coming to the top of the mall and looking down from the Capitol at more people than I had ever seen. We sat under trees on the left side of the mall for the afternoon. You could not see the speakers but could hear them. | What I remember the most was coming to the top of the mall and looking down from the Capitol at more people than I had ever seen. We sat under trees on the left side of the mall for the afternoon. You could not see the speakers but could hear them. |
| I was proud for a long time that I went to the march. In the early 90s I was in Atlanta, and went to the Martin Luther King memorial. I was very moved when I looked at a photo of the march and could see where I had been sitting. | I was proud for a long time that I went to the march. In the early 90s I was in Atlanta, and went to the Martin Luther King memorial. I was very moved when I looked at a photo of the march and could see where I had been sitting. |
| Maryanne Mastro: 'What a wonderful thing is brotherhood' | Maryanne Mastro: 'What a wonderful thing is brotherhood' |
| I was there – a 21-year-old white kid, along with my three of my younger brothers, my sister, her two friends, my father, and my friend Ray. The nine of us had piled into our 1957 Plymouth station wagon in Yonkers, New York, and headed to DC hoping for the best. | I was there – a 21-year-old white kid, along with my three of my younger brothers, my sister, her two friends, my father, and my friend Ray. The nine of us had piled into our 1957 Plymouth station wagon in Yonkers, New York, and headed to DC hoping for the best. |
| Why were we on this voyage? Certainly not because we lived in an integrated neighborhood. My school, PS 11, had but one African American girl, a talented bassoon player in my band. | Why were we on this voyage? Certainly not because we lived in an integrated neighborhood. My school, PS 11, had but one African American girl, a talented bassoon player in my band. |
| Part of what motivated us to go to Washington was the virulent public apprehension and fears being expressed in the press and in public discourse. Even President Kennedy was opposed to the march and discouraged participation in it. It seemed that the establishment wanted the march to be a failure. The media was full of dire predictions that there was going to be violence. Riot police and soldiers were going to be everywhere | Part of what motivated us to go to Washington was the virulent public apprehension and fears being expressed in the press and in public discourse. Even President Kennedy was opposed to the march and discouraged participation in it. It seemed that the establishment wanted the march to be a failure. The media was full of dire predictions that there was going to be violence. Riot police and soldiers were going to be everywhere |
| So there we were, going down to Washington passing and being passed by scores of buses full of fellow marchers. We all had signs in our windows indicating our mission and this fact elicited friendly honks as well as many unfriendly finger gestures, especially as we got closer to Washington. | So there we were, going down to Washington passing and being passed by scores of buses full of fellow marchers. We all had signs in our windows indicating our mission and this fact elicited friendly honks as well as many unfriendly finger gestures, especially as we got closer to Washington. |
| We were in the left lane after having recently filled up the gas tank when a local plumbing company pick-up truck pulled alongside. The driver cursed us and flipped the bird, then deliberately cut us off and drove us up onto the median. The gas tank ripped out of the car and lay behind us, gas spilling all over the place. That we were not killed was a miracle. | We were in the left lane after having recently filled up the gas tank when a local plumbing company pick-up truck pulled alongside. The driver cursed us and flipped the bird, then deliberately cut us off and drove us up onto the median. The gas tank ripped out of the car and lay behind us, gas spilling all over the place. That we were not killed was a miracle. |
| There we were, stranded on the median. What to do? We saw a gas station up ahead. Having enough man power, we pushed the car to the station, where we were told by the black owner that we were only a couple of miles from the march. He told us he would do what he could to fix our car. | There we were, stranded on the median. What to do? We saw a gas station up ahead. Having enough man power, we pushed the car to the station, where we were told by the black owner that we were only a couple of miles from the march. He told us he would do what he could to fix our car. |
| Well, you probably know that the march was a grand success. There was no violence; indeed, it was one of the most uplifting experiences of my life. Newspaper reports later said that 250,000 to 300,000 people, maybe more, attended, at least one quarter of whom were white. We sang, chanted “We shall overcome” and marched together, white hand in black hand. | Well, you probably know that the march was a grand success. There was no violence; indeed, it was one of the most uplifting experiences of my life. Newspaper reports later said that 250,000 to 300,000 people, maybe more, attended, at least one quarter of whom were white. We sang, chanted “We shall overcome” and marched together, white hand in black hand. |
| It was a glorious day – despite the hatred we were exposed to on our way there. We knew the fight would continue, as it does today, but there was an inescapable belief that this march marked the turning of the tide – that the day would come sooner rather than later “when a man would be judged by the content of his character rather than by the color of his skin.” | It was a glorious day – despite the hatred we were exposed to on our way there. We knew the fight would continue, as it does today, but there was an inescapable belief that this march marked the turning of the tide – that the day would come sooner rather than later “when a man would be judged by the content of his character rather than by the color of his skin.” |
| So now it was time to go home – but how? We walked back to the gas station, and “lo and behold” our car was ready! And with a full tank of gas! And with a firm refusal by the owner to accept payment! What a wonderful thing is brotherhood! | So now it was time to go home – but how? We walked back to the gas station, and “lo and behold” our car was ready! And with a full tank of gas! And with a firm refusal by the owner to accept payment! What a wonderful thing is brotherhood! |
| RuthL2: 'Many churchgoers were uncomfortable protesting' | RuthL2: 'Many churchgoers were uncomfortable protesting' |
| "Blacks are going to march in Washington," was repeated in every classroom, church and phone call in 1963. When we heard that in Birmingham, Alabama, fear gripped almost all of us. There were rumors that the airlines would not allow groups of black people on their planes; the train that went up the east coast to Washington was going to shut down; buses filled with black people could not cross southern state lines; Alabama state troopers would stop black people if they were going to Washington by arresting, beating or killing them. | "Blacks are going to march in Washington," was repeated in every classroom, church and phone call in 1963. When we heard that in Birmingham, Alabama, fear gripped almost all of us. There were rumors that the airlines would not allow groups of black people on their planes; the train that went up the east coast to Washington was going to shut down; buses filled with black people could not cross southern state lines; Alabama state troopers would stop black people if they were going to Washington by arresting, beating or killing them. |
| Martin Luther King and his brother AD (pastor for First Baptist church in Ensley) had both been pastors in Alabama. To many of us, seeing Dr King, a well-educated pastor, and other pastors leading protest marches was disturbing, because it was not proper behavior for their positions in the black community. The question of whether churchgoers should be taking part in protest was an unanswered question at that time. Angela Davis’s mother, Ruth, taught me in grade school and her father owned a service station in the black business part of downtown. The Davis family were not seen as church goers so her leading protests was acceptable. | Martin Luther King and his brother AD (pastor for First Baptist church in Ensley) had both been pastors in Alabama. To many of us, seeing Dr King, a well-educated pastor, and other pastors leading protest marches was disturbing, because it was not proper behavior for their positions in the black community. The question of whether churchgoers should be taking part in protest was an unanswered question at that time. Angela Davis’s mother, Ruth, taught me in grade school and her father owned a service station in the black business part of downtown. The Davis family were not seen as church goers so her leading protests was acceptable. |
| Nancy Basco: 'There was no way for me to get to Washington' | Nancy Basco: 'There was no way for me to get to Washington' |
| I was in seventh grade in August 1963, far from the March on Washington or the speeches, in a pedestrian Iowa farm town. | I was in seventh grade in August 1963, far from the March on Washington or the speeches, in a pedestrian Iowa farm town. |
| My Iowan foster mother and I would have lengthy debates on civil rights issues. She didn't believe black people had the right to live in our farm community, while I believed they did. Hours upon hours attempting to change Big Bertha's mindset. With that stalwart mind of hers, there was no way for me to legally venture to Washington. | My Iowan foster mother and I would have lengthy debates on civil rights issues. She didn't believe black people had the right to live in our farm community, while I believed they did. Hours upon hours attempting to change Big Bertha's mindset. With that stalwart mind of hers, there was no way for me to legally venture to Washington. |
| Watching the march and Martin Luther King deliver his 'I have a dream' speech inspired me to keep debating for civil rights and equality in my small town. | Watching the march and Martin Luther King deliver his 'I have a dream' speech inspired me to keep debating for civil rights and equality in my small town. |
| CraigSummers: 'Can you imagine the look on the driver's face?' | CraigSummers: 'Can you imagine the look on the driver's face?' |
| The civil rights movement was one of the great moments in US and world history. American society was transformed literally overnight. We all owe a huge debt to the people who made the movement possible and successful – sometimes sacrificing their lives. | The civil rights movement was one of the great moments in US and world history. American society was transformed literally overnight. We all owe a huge debt to the people who made the movement possible and successful – sometimes sacrificing their lives. |
| Does that mean that racism has been eliminated in the US? No, but most Americans now look beyond a person's race to his character, thus we elected the first black president about 50 years after the civil rights movement began in earnest. | Does that mean that racism has been eliminated in the US? No, but most Americans now look beyond a person's race to his character, thus we elected the first black president about 50 years after the civil rights movement began in earnest. |
| My favorite person was Rosa Parks. Can you imagine the look on the bus driver's face when she said she would not give up her seat to a white person – in 1954? Oh, to have had cell phone cameras back then. | My favorite person was Rosa Parks. Can you imagine the look on the bus driver's face when she said she would not give up her seat to a white person – in 1954? Oh, to have had cell phone cameras back then. |
| nohmask: 'The US is a work in progress' | nohmask: 'The US is a work in progress' |
| I am a 61-year-old US citizen. I watched much of the civil rights movement happen. It was a struggle that began long before I was born. But it happened and succeeded, even though, of course, such struggles are never really over. | I am a 61-year-old US citizen. I watched much of the civil rights movement happen. It was a struggle that began long before I was born. But it happened and succeeded, even though, of course, such struggles are never really over. |
| The US is, as are all countries of which I'm aware, a work in progress. We take steps forward and steps backward every single day. That fact doesn't excuse anyone anywhere from working to right wrongs, whether on an international scale or on a local level. | The US is, as are all countries of which I'm aware, a work in progress. We take steps forward and steps backward every single day. That fact doesn't excuse anyone anywhere from working to right wrongs, whether on an international scale or on a local level. |
| As my granny would say: "Ain't no excuse for sitting on your backside moaning for perfection. Get up off yourself and get over yourself and get to work." | As my granny would say: "Ain't no excuse for sitting on your backside moaning for perfection. Get up off yourself and get over yourself and get to work." |
| groovemaneuvers: 'It's about courage, and funk and soul' | groovemaneuvers: 'It's about courage, and funk and soul' |
| For me, who grew up in a different time and a different place, the story of the March on Washington is about courage … but it’s also bound up with funk and soul. | For me, who grew up in a different time and a different place, the story of the March on Washington is about courage … but it’s also bound up with funk and soul. |
| AhBrightWings: 'Fighting for civil rights is just as important today' | AhBrightWings: 'Fighting for civil rights is just as important today' |
| When I teach American literature, I begin the course with King's "I have a dream" speech. | When I teach American literature, I begin the course with King's "I have a dream" speech. |
| My first day of teaching I played the speech, without considering how potent its impact might be on my students. As the scratchy recording shuddered to silence, I heard a muffled sound which I realized was the sound of a student sobbing. I quickly shooed the other students from the class and sat with L for a long time as she struggled to share her pride in King's legacy, and her anguish and rage that her classmates might think we'd attained that dream. | My first day of teaching I played the speech, without considering how potent its impact might be on my students. As the scratchy recording shuddered to silence, I heard a muffled sound which I realized was the sound of a student sobbing. I quickly shooed the other students from the class and sat with L for a long time as she struggled to share her pride in King's legacy, and her anguish and rage that her classmates might think we'd attained that dream. |
| She was from Anacostia, the poorest neighborhood in DC, and one of the poorest in the nation. Her classmates were the daughters of the moneyed "elite" of ambassadors, senators, lawyers, doctors, and politicians. I wept with her and wrote her a long letter thanking her for the gift she gave me as a new teacher, about how to avoid making assumptions, about the vast gulf in my students' backgrounds and experiences, and the power of that speech to speak to a new generation. | She was from Anacostia, the poorest neighborhood in DC, and one of the poorest in the nation. Her classmates were the daughters of the moneyed "elite" of ambassadors, senators, lawyers, doctors, and politicians. I wept with her and wrote her a long letter thanking her for the gift she gave me as a new teacher, about how to avoid making assumptions, about the vast gulf in my students' backgrounds and experiences, and the power of that speech to speak to a new generation. |
| When she graduated, she showed me a tattered piece of paper: it was my letter, read so many times it had fallen to pieces. She told me I was the first white person who had ever listened to her concerns, who had allowed her to talk about race openly. Most of my black students will tell you that they still think it's a taboo subject. The moment it comes up, white students aggressively talk about how it "all happened hundreds of years ago," and "why can't 'you' people just let it go" and "we're so sick of hearing about it" – sentiments we often hear on these pages; ones crushing to a girl that age living the very real fallout of racism and poverty. | When she graduated, she showed me a tattered piece of paper: it was my letter, read so many times it had fallen to pieces. She told me I was the first white person who had ever listened to her concerns, who had allowed her to talk about race openly. Most of my black students will tell you that they still think it's a taboo subject. The moment it comes up, white students aggressively talk about how it "all happened hundreds of years ago," and "why can't 'you' people just let it go" and "we're so sick of hearing about it" – sentiments we often hear on these pages; ones crushing to a girl that age living the very real fallout of racism and poverty. |
| It isn't a coincidence that King was assassinated at the very moment he expanded his vision to address war, violence, and poverty. Then, as now, it's dangerous – sometimes deadly – to confront a corrupt government, one truly led by the military industrial complex. Our current crisis lends urgency to learning from the civil rights movement. | It isn't a coincidence that King was assassinated at the very moment he expanded his vision to address war, violence, and poverty. Then, as now, it's dangerous – sometimes deadly – to confront a corrupt government, one truly led by the military industrial complex. Our current crisis lends urgency to learning from the civil rights movement. |
| A small group of dedicated, passionate, courageous, and determined men and women confronted a monolithic system of entrenched injustice. The Freedom Riders and civil rights activists were willing to be attacked by dogs, sprayed with fire hoses, to be beaten, to go to jail, to have their dignity and very lives threatened, and they did not back down. Their courage was equal parts humbling and inspiring. | A small group of dedicated, passionate, courageous, and determined men and women confronted a monolithic system of entrenched injustice. The Freedom Riders and civil rights activists were willing to be attacked by dogs, sprayed with fire hoses, to be beaten, to go to jail, to have their dignity and very lives threatened, and they did not back down. Their courage was equal parts humbling and inspiring. |
| That is the legacy we need to tap into right now when confronting war crimes and the NSA debacle. | That is the legacy we need to tap into right now when confronting war crimes and the NSA debacle. |
| More stories | More stories |
| View more stories and photos from Guardian readers on what civil rights means to them at GuardianWitness. | View more stories and photos from Guardian readers on what civil rights means to them at GuardianWitness. |