John,
This Saturday, thousands of people from across the country will gather in Washington, D.C., to reanimate the spirit of a seminal moment in American history and the contemporary Civil Rights Movement: the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Children's Defense Fund is pleased to serve as a supportive partner for this year's 60th anniversary event on the National Mall, led by the National Action Network and the Drum Major Institute. We invite you to join us, in-person or in spirit, to stand with and for young people.
Of the quarter million people gathered on August 28, 1963, many were inspired by the activism of young people of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade just months before. From May 2 to May 10 of the same year, 5,000 students courageously challenged segregation in their city.
In turn, when A. Phillip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and John Lewis, climbed the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, they galvanized and inspired a generation of young people who would lead the struggle well into the future. While many remember the rhetorical brilliance of Dr. King’s ‘dream’ proclamation that day, his primary focus was on economic justice. That core message later informed both his work in the Poor People’s campaign and CDF’s work to end child poverty, so young people grow up with dignity, hope, and joy.
We will march in solidarity this Saturday because we serve children and youth who both inspire and inform the crusade for justice, equity, and human flourishing. They are the Beloved Community.
Join me this week for the 60th anniversary continuation of the March on Washington. We must act now to ensure our children get the opportunity to live in the America they deserve - one of freedom and equality.
