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The First Planning of the March
A. Philip Randolph, a elder statesman of the civil rights movements, planned a mass march on Washington in hopes to protest Black soldiers exclusion from World War II defense jobs and new Deal Programs. -
Fair Employment Practice Committee
President Franklin D. Roosevelt met with A. Phillip Randolph and came to an agreement to issue a executive order forbidding discrimination against workers in defense industries and government. This committee investigates charges of racial discrimination. -
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Brown v. Board of Education
The court case of Brown v. Board of Education declared that whites and blacks being kept separate but equal was unconstitutional. This was a prime event in the civil rights movement and encouraged the March on Washington, showing that it was possible to make change in legislation. -
Bringing in Martin Luther King
Randolph proposed the March on Washington with Martin Luther King, in hopes of capitalizing on Kings appeal and bringing more people to the march -
Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom
In 1957, 25,000 demonstrators gathered for a Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom at the Lincoln memorial which was filled with hours of songs and speeches that demanded the government to fulfill the three year old Brown v. Board of Education. -
Youth March for Integrated Schools
Martin Luther King was the honorary chairman of two youth marches fighting for integrated schools, protests taking place in Washington D.C -
Meeting and the Endorsement of the March with John F. Kennedy and Civil Rights Leaders
Before the March on Washington, civil rights leaders met with president John F. Kennedy to discuss the march. Kennedy claimed that the march was going to be 'ill-timed'. Randolph responded with "Frankly, I have never engaged in any direct action movement which did not seem ill-timed." After meeting with the president, civil rights leaders was able to convince Kennedy to endorse the march. -
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Birmingham Campaign
Martin Luther King partnered with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Alabama Christian Movement for Human rights to take direct action against Birmingham's city's segregation system. They put immense pressure on the city's merchants during this time so they could have their voices heard against racial discrimination. -
The March on Washington
The March on Washington was a critical protest of 250,000 people that gathered in front of the Lincoln Monument. The protest was against racial discrimination and to show support for the civil rights movement and demand legislation for equality in Congress. Martin Luther King Jr. also delivered his famous speech "I Have a Dream" in support for the equality African Americans.