On August 28, 1963 the last speaker at the march at Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. gave the very famous speech "I Have A Dream." More than 250,000 people came. There were black and white people there to see the history making speech. Religious Leaders and Labor Unions came to support the protest. It was the largest support for the civil rights movements so far. Many people were astounded with the powerful speech Martin Luther King Jr. gave. He was up all night before the march preparing his speech. It was only supposed to last eight minutes. He ended up not reading all of his speech he just spoke what he felt with the energised crowd. It strengthened black and some white people's beliefs that racsim is wrong and unfair. It even made some white people consider treating African-American people differently. The speech tried to explain that Dr. King believed everybody would be guaranteed the rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." (King, The Photobiography of Martin Luther King Jr., by Bob Adelman and Charles Johnson, published by Viking Studio in the year of 2000)  The first picture on this web-page is part of the crowd of the March on Washington, i found this picture at, http://departments.risd.edu/depts/arth/web/lecture_21_scans/2_March_on_Washington.jpg The second picture on this page is of Martin Luther King Jr. giving his history making speech, I found this picture at: http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/GB/PH0269~Martin-Luther-King-Jr-Posters.jpg The third picture I have on this page is of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, i came across it at http://www.governor.state.az.us/eop/images/CivilRights.jpg | In June 1963 President Kennedy, was demanding for the congress pass a very powerful civil rights bill. To and persuade the Congress Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin organized a amazingly large march at Washington. They were going to have speeches and march to the Lincoln Memorial. Some people were afraid that The March On Washington was going to be very rough and dangerous. It turned out that it was very peaceful and everybody was dressed nicely, even some celebrities showed up to the march. They were also hoping for 100,00 people to show up and support the cause. The march ended up being the largest protest meeting in the nation's history.  Three months after the march at Washington President Kennedy was assainated. His Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was the president of the United States of America after the assaination. President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It banned segregation in public places. It also banned segregation at jobs or at work, based on gender, religion, and race. After the bill was passed it increased the number of African-American voters. It also gave African-Americans a boost in confidence, because they were not segregated as much they saw who they really were and how they contribute to American culture and history. Some people became angry because of how long the change was taking. There was still hatred going on about different races. People were still segregating for jobs, homes, and unfair treatment. Segregation still goes on today. Violence and unfair treatment is one of the most common problems in the world today. It is not just about race, it is also about gender and religion. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream is still living today. We should treat everyone the same way. We are all made equal no matter what gender, race, or religion we are. |
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