The March

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was an event that I had personally never really learned a lot about before this class and video. This video showed how much work went into pulling off this march, and how the word was spread about The March.

The first thing I learned is that there was another Martin Luther King Jr., however this person fought to keep segregation alive. Bull Connor was an extremely racist individual, who happened to be the police chief of Birmingham, Alabama, or "Bombingham" as it was nicknamed. 

An image of Bull Connor

I say that Bull Connor was the MLK of segregation because he gave speeches, was very outspoken, and adamant about keeping segregation. He was the spearhead for the continual practice of segregation. 

Almost comically, Bull Connor jailed MLK in April of 1963. Bull Connor had a reputation for having his jails be the worst possible thing for blacks. The condition of the cells, his mental torture, and everything about the environment made it extremely horrible for any black person to be thrown in to. 

However, MLK prevailed, and almost gloated that his jail was no match for the spirit of the African American. Once MLK proved to his followers and supporters that jail was not a big concern, blacks started to become more risky and more aggressive in their approach to protesting. Jail was no longer a fear lingering of the back of their minds anymore because King proved that it is not terrifying.

Speaking of strengthening MLK's campaign, Bayard Rustin was viewed to those as a detriment to King's cause because he was a gay socialist. King needed Rustin for the word of the March to be spread, so he could not get rid of him. Although Rustin would cause the average white to not join the campaign, I actually think Rustin strengthened King's message. Rustin showed that King and his followers would except anyone and fight for the rights of all people. To me, this showed that The March and King's beliefs were not only for blacks to gain power, but for all oppressed peoples to rise up and be equal to the common white man.

An image of A. Phillip Randolph

A. Phillip Randolph, also a socialist, was a huge contributor towards making The March turn in to a reality. He directed the movement and helped organize the structure of The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Randolph was a labor unionist, so he had the idea of having a march that would aim to demand economic improvement for African Americans.

The 1st meeting of The March was held on July 2nd, 1963. This was held to ensure The March would be possible, and mainly how it would go down. The 2nd meeting was held August 28th, 1963, the day of The March. This meeting helped ensure everything would run smoothly, including practicing speeches.

John Lewis' speech was condemned. Black leaders were threatening to not speak if Lewis gave his speech, as they believe his speech would incite violence against white people and would completely undermine all of their hard work. Lewis' speech before revisions stated that they would march "through the heart of Dixie (the South), the way Sherman did". Sherman's march is a very famous march, where General Sherman and his army marched through the South, pillaging and burning all towns they went through. This is why Lewis' speech was condemned. He had to revise it before he could speak, and he did.

The March is a very interesting historical event that is under taught in my opinion. I recommend this video to anyone trying to learn more about The March.