[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13158]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   50TH ANNIVERSARY FOR THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CORRINE BROWN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 2, 2013

  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, as we commemorate and celebrate 
the 50th anniversary for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom 
(August 28, 1963), we do so with deep appreciation and profound 
gratitude to those who sacrificed and made true their promise of 
working to make America a better place for everyone.
  With the march taking place during the 100th year anniversary of the 
signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 
delivered his famous ``I Have a Dream'' speech on the steps of the 
Lincoln Memorial to over 250,000 people. As a result, the March on 
Washington remains one of the largest demonstrations for civil rights 
and economic rights in American history. Not only was the crowd large 
on that day, but the enormous impact it had on the struggle for 
equality and social justice is immeasurable.
  As the concept for a march of its magnitude began to unfold, American 
civil rights leaders as James Farmer, John Lewis, Martin Luther King, 
Jr., Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, and Bayard Rustin all joined a broader 
coalition responsible for organizing the march under the leadership of 
its chairman, A. Phillip Randolph.
  Randolph, a onetime resident of Jacksonville, FL, had been selected 
to lead this effort as he was one of the most widely known 
spokespersons for black working class interests in the country. Just 
over twenty years prior he planned to use the support of nearly 100,000 
loyal Black citizens to march on Washington, D.C., to protest President 
Franklin D. Roosevelt's refusal to issue an Executive Order to ban 
discrimination against black workers in the defense industry. However, 
just six days before the march was scheduled, Roosevelt issued 
Executive Order No. 8802 declaring ``there shall be no discrimination 
in the employment of workers in defense industries or government 
because of race, creed, color, or national origin''.
  During the march on Washington in 1968, the coalition presented a 
list of comprehensive goals which included, a push to get passage of 
meaningful civil rights legislation, immediate elimination of school 
segregation, a program of public works, increased job training for the 
unemployed, a Federal law prohibiting discrimination in public or 
private hiring, a $2-an-hour minimum wage nationwide, withholding 
Federal funds from programs that tolerate discrimination, enforcement 
of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution by reducing congressional 
representation from States that disenfranchise citizens, a broadened 
Fair Labor Standards Act to currently excluded employment areas, and 
authority for the Attorney General to institute injunctive suits when 
constitutional rights are violated.
  While we have made significant progress since the March on Washington 
for Jobs and Freedom, we find ourselves dealing with many of the same 
issues that participants of the demonstration dealt with years ago. 
Today we see unemployment in the African American community over 10%, 
today we see conservative state legislatures across the country passing 
restrictive laws that make it more difficult for Americans to have 
access to the ballot box, today we see people judge each other based on 
the color of their skin, and as a result an unarmed teen in Florida 
lost his life, and today, we find ourselves trying to piece back what 
is left of the dismantled Voting Rights Act of 1965, as the United 
States Supreme Court has struck down Section 4 of the law, leaving the 
prized legislative victory of the Civil Rights movement without much 
power.
  While we must take this time to celebrate and appreciate the March on 
Washington for Jobs and Freedom, we must also continue to ensure that 
the goals of the march are fulfilled and Dr. King's Dream becomes a 
reality. For there is much work to be done, and if we all join 
together, I am hopeful we can make social justice and equality real in 
America, and all across the globe.

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