[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 111 (Thursday, July 24, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1581-E1582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN D. DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 23, 2003

  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 40th 
anniversary of the March on Washington, the most significant civil 
rights demonstration in United States history. The march was a 
watershed event that led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 
1964.
  On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people of all ages, races and 
religions traveled from every corner of America to Washington on 
``freedom'' buses and trains. Some participants walked as far as 230 
miles to reach our nation's capital. The march was by far the largest 
and most peaceful of its time and its volume greatly exceeded the 
expected 100,000 participants. The purpose of the March for Jobs and 
Freedom was to encourage passage of the Civil Rights Act presented to 
Congress by President John F. Kennedy. The United Auto Workers union, 
one of the march's biggest sponsors, printed hundreds of signs with 
slogans such as ``UAW Says Jobs and Freedom for Every American.''
  My dear friend, colleague and genuine American hero John Lewis, had 
the honor of speaking alongside Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
who concluded the event with his renowned ``I Have A Dream'' speech. 
Dr. King's eloquent words should be remembered today: ``When we allow 
freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every 
hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up 
that day when all God's children, black men and white men, Jews and 
Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and 
sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: ``Free at last! Free at 
last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!''
  Reverend King's powerful words did not fall on deaf ears. After 
President Kennedy's tragic death, his successor President Lyndon 
Johnson, in his first address to Congress and the nation, called for 
the passage of the Civil Rights Act. ``Let us continue,'' he declared, 
promising that ``the ideas and the ideals which [Kennedy] so nobly 
represented must and will be translated into effective action.'' 
Finally, on July 2, 1964, President Johnson signed into law the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964, the most important piece of civil rights 
legislation in United States history.

[[Page E1582]]

  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that I voted for that historic civil 
rights bill. I am proud of the work Congress and the Administration has 
done in the past 40 years to guarantee equal rights to all Americans. I 
ask that you and all of my colleagues rise to join me in commemorating 
the anniversary of this remarkable event.

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