Tens of thousands gathered in the nation’s capital in intermittent rain Wednesday to celebrate and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.
In an impassioned speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, President Obama called on the America to join forces to address the “great unfinished business” of the 1963 March, achieving economic justice.
“The men and women who gathered 50 years ago were not there in search of some abstract idea,” said Obama. “They were there seeking jobs as well as justice. Not just the absence of oppression, but the presence of economic opportunity.”
Other speakers at the milestone event included two former presidents, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, actor Forest Whitaker and members of the King family.
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