John,

The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was held at a time of epic struggle. The march was intended to fight against the forces of racial discrimination, segregation and violence, and for opportunity and freedom through advancements in voting rights, civil rights, education and economic rights.

This Saturday, Aug. 26, we will join with thousands of other union members, faith and civil rights leaders, and activists to march again and continue the fight to combat discrimination and dehumanization and advance opportunity, freedom and justice.

This fight isn’t new, but as we have bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice, the backlash has been fierce. It’s a fight we at the A. Philip Randolph Institute and the American Federation of Teachers know all too well. APRI and AFT leaders like Bayard Rustin, a key architect of the original march, understood the lifeline connection that existed between the American labor movement and the movement to advance civil rights; we all are in this together. The AFT has continued to build on our shared fight, as we stood all those years ago with the likes of A. Philip Randolph, Rabbi Joachim Prinz, Rep. John Lewis, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and others to demand what all communities deserve.

That’s the AFT’s legacy. In 1913, we called for equal pay for all Black teachers, and in 1954, we submitted an amicus brief in Brown v. Board of Education in support of integrating our nation’s schools. It’s why in 1957, we gave our affiliates the choice: Desegregate your local unions or leave the AFT.

Now we must continue that fight.

APRI and the AFT stand for equality and freedom, jobs and justice, a voice at work and in our democracy, dignity for all, and the promise of public education. We’re standing up for real solutions for our kids and communities. And we’re standing up for a shared future and a shared dream.

We are at an inflection point where freedoms have been limited by extremist politicians and the Supreme Court. We’re joining together this Saturday to march once again because kids and communities across the country need real solutions. We march because students and educators in Florida are restricted from learning or teaching about the March on Washington. We march because voting rights remain under attack in states like Georgia, North Carolina and so many others. We march as Texas silences the voices of parents and community members in Houston.

Here’s how you can join us in this work:

1. As extremists ban books, the AFT is giving away books that reflect our students’ experiences. Click here to donate to our Reading Opens the World campaign, so we can distribute another million books across the country.
2. Register to join us for the 2023 AFT Human, Civil and Women’s Rights Conference.
3. Sign up to be an elections volunteer with the AFT.

We’re all in this together—we were in 1963, and we are now. This march is not a commemoration, but a continuation of the work that we must all do. The time is now to take action and fight for our democracy and our future.

In unity,
Clayola Brown
President, A. Philip Randolph Institute

Randi Weingarten
President, American Federation of Teachers