#mow60

Reposted from @prismreports Sixty years have passed since 250,000 people mobilized in Washington, D.C. for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom for Black Americans’ economic & civil rights. Created by labor unionist #APhilipRandolph & activist #BayardRustin, the march brought together Black labor advocates; unions like the @UAW; organizers; civil rights groups like the @NAACP & @sclcgkc; Black activists; & workers as a united front.

While the march was exceptional in its sheer scope & pressured then-President John F. Kennedy to push the #CivilRightsAct through Congress, there were & remain many critiques. Malcolm X called it the “farce on Washington”; #JohnLewis revised his speech after organizers asked him to tone down critiques of the Kennedy administration; #JamesBaldwin was barred from speaking because of his identity as a gay man; & no woman was included in the line-up of speakers.

In an effort to reach a wide audience, the march lacked the radical critiques of capitalism, white supremacy, & imperialism in calling for racial & economic justice. “Capitalism was built on the exploitation of Black slaves & continues to thrive on the exploitation of the poor, both Black & white, both here & abroad,” stated Dr. Martin Luther King in “The Three Evils” speech, a year before he was murdered.

In the six decades since the march, the U.S. government & the lobbying power of corporations systematically hacked away at labor power, unions, & critical workers’ rights gains. Black Americans disproportionately continue to live in a hyper-surveilled police state & are terrorized by police forces that murder with impunity.

From our on-the-ground coverage, we’ve seen how workers have been—& still are—fighting back, including the Black working class, incarcerated laborers, & Black women organizing service workers in the South.

Prism’s reporting reflects the lived realities of Black families & communities, & the fight for labor rights & everything it touches. The March Continues because it must, & we’re here to report on it. Read more about our project using the link in bio or on prismreports.org.

▪︎In 1955, 14-year old #EmmettTill was abducted and murdered in by white supremacists;

▪︎In 1963 (60 years ago), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have A Dream" speech, which white supremacists often take out of context/misquote to "justify" their racism, bigotry and inhumanity;

▪︎In 1973 (50 years ago), Marvin Gaye released his Soul/RnB classic album "Let's Get It On"

Reposted from @nmaahc #OnThisDay 60 years ago, the #MarchonWashington for Jobs and Freedom brought nearly 250,000 people to the nation’s capital to protest #racialdiscrimination and show support for #civilrights legislation pending in Congress.

For its resolute battle towards #racialunity, #socialequity, and spiritual reckoning, The March on Washington, formed Black America’s greatest love note to the world. Precipitated by increased racial hostilities in the wake of desegregation legislation and the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till, the March on Washington sought equal access to the rights and protections guaranteed under citizenship. Identifying the Black community’s commitment to remain “wed” to the nation by upholding its mores and values, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom demanded the legitimacy of connubial ties through full citizenship. On the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington – its Diamond anniversary – the Museum examines the impassioned words of its organizers, supporters, and speakers, which made “love” the lyrical refrain and petition of their chorus for human rights.

Follow the link in our bio to immerse yourself in our museum’s resources, stories, collection items and video interviews surrounding the history of the March on Washington and the unique political and cultural impact it had on organizers, participants, and the nation. #MOW60

#OnThisDay in 1955, a murder took place in Money, Mississippi. 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped in the middle of the night by two white men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam. They tortured, beat and shot the teenager, casting his body into the Tallahatchie River tied to a cotton gin fan.

For African Americans, the murder of Till was evidence of the decades-old codes of violence exacted upon Black men and women for breaking the rules of white supremacy in the Deep South. Particularly for Black men, who, like Till, found themselves under threat of attack or death for sexual advances towards white women – which often were fabricated claims. As recently as June of this year, an arrest warrant was uncovered in Mississippi for Carolyn Bryant Donham, the White woman whose false claim instigated Till’s attack. Till’s brutal murder, and his mother Mamie’s call to display his open casket to the world, reverberated a need for immediate change.

In an effort to provide a space for history, truth, reconciliation and healing, the museum acquired Emmett Till’s original casket. The powerful object not only helps tell the difficult history of racial violence and the Civil Rights movement, but it also gives pause to visitors and makes them reflect in the same way his mother encouraged the public to do so in 1955. #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory