‘The greatest demonstration’


 

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Held Aug. 28, 1963, the march was initiated by civil rights leader Asa Philip Randolph and sponsored by five of the largest civil rights organizations in the United States.

A new exhibition in the Africana Library celebrates the march’s major players - including Martin Luther King Jr., who delivered the historic “I Have a Dream” speech to an estimated 250,000 people at the base of the Lincoln Memorial that day.

Iconic images of the march and photographs of the leaders make up the display. It also includes William P. Jones’ “The March on Washington: Jobs, Freedom, & the Forgotten History of Civil Rights,” a seminal book that examines the history of the massive, peaceful demonstration.