The Civil Rights Movement: The March On Washington

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Overview The March on Washington started as an idea by Philip Randolph, a civil rights leader. The march was a peaceful protest for racial injustice, and specifically, they were protesting segregation and job discrimination for blacks in America. It was an interracial march where two hundred fifty thousand people took part. The crowd of marchers was whites, blacks, women, and men from all around the country. On August 28, 1963, the people marched the entire day from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. People continued to walk around the reflecting pool which is in between the two monuments. During the march, many famous civil rights leaders made speeches including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and his famous “I have a dream”…show more content…
This was the main event that pushed for new civil rights legislation. One year after the march, in 1964, the civil rights act was made. The civil rights act ended segregation in public places, and it banned employment discrimination by someone’s race, religion, sex, or color. The civil rights act made way for two other important laws called the voting rights act of 1965 and the fair housing act of 1968. The voting rights act made certain discriminatory voting practices illegal. For example, the literacy test and the poll tax were now prohibited in the country. This made it possible for all people black and white to vote. The Fair Housing Act was a law that provided equal housing opportunities regardless of religion and race. Both of these pieces of legislation are known as follow-ups to the civil rights act of 1964. All of the new pieces of legislation show how the March on Washington was meaningful to Congress. Some people even argue that it was a turning point in the civil rights movement because it pressured the president, John F Kennedy to make the civil rights act. The March on Washington has influenced our lives today because Martin Luther King’s words in his “ I have a dream” speech has come true. He says,”Black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boy's and white girls”. This means that blacks and whites will be united and have equal rights. In the present day, blacks and whites are equal and have equal rights, which goes to show that Martin Luther King’s “dream” has come
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