The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a watershed event that impacted the direction of the Civil Rights movement in the United States.
But now, 50 years later, do you feel as though it has made a difference in your life?
We asked theGrio.com users that question and more in an exclusive survey, and their poignant and candid responses resonate with the passions of today’s events.
The 230 people who responded to our survey ranged from ages 20 to 78, with the average being 54 years old.
Thirteen of our respondents actually attended the march in 1963. Seventy said they would be attending the commemorative events this month in D.C.
Among the reasons some of our respondents could not make the march:
- Previous family commitments such as weddings and reunions
- Inhibiting personal finances
- Transportation arrangements (bus or carpool)
- Disabled and mobility would be an issue
- They would be represented by younger family members who are attending
There was even a respondent who told us that they thought it would be more beneficial to make an in-kind cash donation to the NAACP.
Ninety-three percent of our survey respondents told us that they would be watching the commemoration events online or on TV.
When asked “Did a relative or someone close to you attend the march 50 years ago?” we got some very moving responses:
- A woman from Austin, TX told us her priest attended the march as a young seminary student. The priest was overwhelmed by the crowds, welcomed and loved. We are told that it was a life-changing event for the priest, who had switched denominations as a result of that experience “to stand with those whose rights were trampled.”
- A respondent from Damascus, PA was at the march in 1963 with her father. She said her dad was a veteran who told her stories about what he had to endure in the military and later as a New York City transit policeman during the Jim Crow era. She says the stories and the experiences have stayed with her throughout her life. As she put it: “My head is bloodied, but unbowed.”
- A 64-year-old woman from Menifee, CA shared the story of Ms. May Patterson, who attended the march through the benefit of her employer who paid her way to go. But as a personal note, she also added that her family was deeply involved in the civil rights movement. Her dad fought for blacks to join the postal workers’ union. These efforts were met with violent resistance. A cross was burned on her lawn, her aunt’s house was blown off the foundations and her dad’s cousin was shot in the head.
- A woman from Columbus, OH told us that all of her mother’s five brothers were involved in the Civil Rights Movement and this is how she became involved. She moved to Washington, D.C. shortly after attending a year and a half at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. She told us that she had won a scholarship but her passion for the civil rights movement was so great, she gave up the scholarship. She told us how her mother became very angry at her for this. “I did return to complete [my] Masters’ Degree 20 years later,” she said. She told us that her mother lived to see her accomplish a dual Bachelors of Science degree before she died. She went on tell us that the march 50 years ago and the turbulence surrounding the civil rights of that era have definitely affected her impressions of civil rights issues of today. She told theGrio that she knows we still have a lot of work to do.
That sentiment, still having a long way to go, was echoed when we asked the question “Do you feel the legacy of the march 50 years ago touched your life today?”
- “Absolutely!” said a woman from Austin, TX. She told us that as a “white” American who was 8 at the time of the march, she has seen so much change for the better and has been relieved at each hurdle our nation cleared. But she also told us that she sees an erosion of progress as of late. “To see that people are taking us backwards, gaming the system which is all we have and are, makes me sad and angry.” She went on to tell us, “Taking away the right to vote from anyone is sinful, un-American, anti-freedom and just wrong.” She told theGrio that the legacy of Dr. King taught her about the fairness, justice, and mercy of Jesus Christ. “We will overcome, again and again, daily,” she said. “The sad ones who fight against it, fight against progress and the will of God. They fear that when they are in the minority, they will be treated as they treat minorities. The legacy of the March taught me to treat others as I’d like to be treated and that life can’t be fair unless we fight for fairness daily.”
- An educator from Charlotte, NC said, “I was 6 years old in 1963. Yet, in the aftermath of the 1963 March, I along with others of my generation witness and live through the struggles for human dignity and equality. Because of the works of courageous citizens like Dr. King and the legions of people who fought for civil rights, I am a direct benefactor of the legacy and efforts that they fought so hard to achieve. They fought in their time and now I must honor their efforts by continuing to fight against a rising tide of laws aimed at dismantling the civil rights gains that were achieved.”
- A woman from St. Paul MN told us, “I was 17yrs [sic] old and very militant. I learned to become less angry and more tolerant of ignorant people.”
- A 56-year-old man from Roanoke, VA told us “I grew up during segregation. I was born in the ‘Colored Section’ of the Winchester, Va. Memorial Hospital in 1957. My birth certificate says my race is ‘Colored.’ I remember the things I had to go through when I was a kid. Life in America, while not perfect, is much better now. Perfect? No. Equal? No. But better.”
- A 64-year-old woman from Petersburg, VA said, “My children and now grandchildren and great-grandchildren can walk into any restaurant and sit down and enjoy their meal. They ride on decent buses and go to schools that I can only remember passing by to go to a little 2 or 3-room wood bldg. [sic] with an outside toilet and a pot belly stove that never seemed to warm you up, and books that were forever outdated. We have come a long ways but believe me when I tell you we have not arrived yet. But by the grace of God the dream will become a reality.”
- A 50-year-old respondent from Florida said, “I am afforded many unlimited opportunities to pursue my dreams and career. I have a voice in the political arena and nothing is more precious to me than having been able to cast my vote that put an African-American in the highest political seat in America if not the whole world.”
Though in the 50 years since the March on Washington a black man has been elected president, 40 percent of our respondents feel race relations following Barack Obama’s election are worse off. Just 19 percent feel race relations are better while 31 percent feel race relations are the same. Perhaps education about the civil rights movement and race awareness can help make a difference. Responses to whether the march and its legacy was taught in school on any level were almost equally divided between not being taught at all to being taught somewhat in grade school, but mostly in high school and college.
Respondents told us Black History Month made a difference, without which the civil rights movement would never become a subject in school at all. The King Holiday provided another occasion to learn about civil rights, but the overwhelming feeling was that a more proactive effort to make civil rights and the legacy of the March on Washington a core curriculum item would have a positive impact on civil rights in America.