Civil Rights - March on Washington

By bblackburn001

  • Employment Agency

    In 1912, A. Phillip Randolph and Chandler Owen established an employment agency where they attempted to organize Black Workers.

  • The Messenger

    In 1917, A. Phillip Randolph and Chandler Owen foundered a magazine called The Messenger that called for more positions for African Americans in the war industry and the armed forces.

  • Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

    The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was the first African-American labor union to be affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. They aimed to improve the working conditions and treatment of African Americans who were railroad porters or employed by the Pullman Company.

  • Fair Employment Practices Committee

    President Franklin D. Roosevelt established this committee to help prevent discrimination against African Americans in defense and government jobs.

  • Planned March on Washington

    In 1941, Civil Rights activist A. Phillip Randolph planned a mass march on Washington to protest discrimination in WWII defense Jobs and the New Deal programs. The day before the march, President Roosevelt met with Randolph and agreed to issue an executive order that forbid discrimination in defense industries and government. As a result, Randolph called off the march.

  • The League for Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation

    After WWII, Randolph founded The League for Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation. This played a big role in pressuring President Truman to end segregation in the armed forces.

  • Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

    This organization promoted civil and human rights for various groups who faced discrimination. A. Phillip Randolph founded the conference. They talked about campaigns against discrimination in housing and employment practices, voting rights, and education.

  • Southern Christian Leadership Conference

    Along with other civil rights activists, Martin Luther King Jr. founded the Souther Christian Leadership Conference that was committed to fighting for full equality for African Americans with nonviolent protests.

  • Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

    The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was founded by young people who were dedicated to nonviolent and direct actions in fighting for civil rights. They worked along with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The committee participated in sit-ins and protests. They even participated in the March on Washington, and their chairman, John Lewis, was scheduled to speak at the March.

  • Planning the March on Washington

    Following the violent protests in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, momentum for a mass protest on the nation's capital rose. Randolph and King planned marches separately and decided to merge into one mass protest. Randolph and Bayard Rustin planned a march calling for fair treatment and equal opportunity.

  • March on Washington

    The March on Washington was a political demonstration in Washington, D.C. Around 250,000 people protested racial discrimination and showed their support for civil rights legislation. The March on Washington included the "Big Six" of the Civil Rights Movement: James Farmer, John Lewis, A. Philip Randolph, Row Wilkins, Martin Luther King Jr., and Whitney Young. As the final official speaker, Martin Luther King Jr gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.