August 28th marks 59 years since the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.[i] That day on the steps of Lincoln Memorial, approximately 250,000 people assembled in Washington, D.C., as the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his speech, “I have a Dream”.[ii] Rev. King called for economic equality and justice and was a defining moment in the civil rights movement. It was estimated that of the 250,000 in attendance, 190,000 were black and 60,000 were white. In the end, after almost 5,900 police officers were mobilized and 6,000 soldiers were to provide additional protection, there were no incidents reported by police.[iii]
By June 19, 1964, according to the N.Y. Times, a civil rights bill had passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 290 in favor (152 Democrats and 138 Republicans) to 130 against (96 Democrats and 34 Republicans).[iv] The Senate, by a vote of 73 in favor (46 Democrats and 27 Republicans) to 27 against (21 Democrats and 6 Republicans).[v] On July 2, 1964, the House approved the final Senate bill. That evening, President Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat from Texas signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. The law prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.[vi]
The following year, according to constitutioncenter.org, a private nonprofit organization, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, outlawing discriminatory voting practices. As noted by fairvote.org, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, the Act was passed by a bipartisan vote in the Senate and the House.[vii] The Act had required that those states with a history of discrimination receive pre-clearance of changes in voting procedures from the federal government. This preclearance requirement ended, however with the Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder in 2013[viii]
By the second half of the 1800s, certain states and territories in the United States began to grant some voting rights to women.[ix] As stated in britannica.com, it was the view of society that women were to be precluded from voting and holding office.[x] In March 1913, 5,000 women gathered in Washington, D.C.[xi], with the hopes of a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to vote.[xii] Only seven years later, in 1920, the 19thAmendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. It guaranteed women the right to vote.[xiii] As history.com notes, the 19th Amendment, however, while guaranteeing white women the right to vote, did not do the same for women of color.[xiv]
Why is this important?
Why do we need to know this?
Today, our country is facing a tremendous domestic challenge. It seems more politically divided than at any time since the civil war. This First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the right to peaceably assemble and the right to petition the government.
Throughout our nation’s history, there have been many instances where protests and assemblies have influenced change.
Since the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, according to the N.Y. Times, most abortions are now banned in at least 12 states.[xv] However, according to pewresearch.org, 61% of Americans say that abortion should be legal against 37% who believe that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.[xvi]
Since the Shelby case, states have continued to pass legislation restricting voting rights.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were among the most sweeping civil rights legislation and passed on a bipartisan vote in Congress. There was disagreement with the passage of the Act, particularly from southern states. However, the March on Washington was only one of many protests and demonstrations to advance civil rights, culminating in the passing of laws that changed how millions of Americans lived and voted.
On January 21, 2017, only a day after the presidential inauguration, the Women’s March on Washington saw hundreds of thousands of people, peacefully assemble in Washington, D.C. in support of reproductive, civil, and human rights.[xvii] There were similar protests all over the world.
Maybe next time, if there is a cause in which you believe, you too could be a part of a peaceful march.
That is the benefit of living in a democracy.
Be Informed
Be Engaged
Be Involved
[i] https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington
[ii] https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/official-program-for-the-march-on-washington
[iii] https://www.nps.gov/articles/march-on-washington.htm
[iv] https://www.nytimes.com/1964/02/11/archives/civil-rights-bill-passed-by-house-in-290130-vote-hard-senate-fight.html
[v] https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/civil-rights-1964/senate-roll-call.html; See also, https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/s409
[vi] https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/civil_rights/cloture_finalpassage.htm
[vii]https://www.fairvote.org/celebrating_the_57th_anniversary_of_the_voting_rights_act_and_recommitting_to_renewal
[viii] https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this-day-the-voting-rights-act-of-1965-is-signed
[ix] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nineteenth-Amendment
[x] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nineteenth-Amendment
[xi] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/original-womens-march-washington-and-suffragists-who-paved-way-180961869/
[xii] https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2016/03/03/this-day-history-1913-womens-suffrage-parade
[xiii] https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/19th-amendment
[xiv] https://www.history.com/news/19th-amendment-voter-suppression
[xv] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.htm
[xvi] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/06/13/about-six-in-ten-americans-say-abortion-should-be-legal-in-all-or-most-cases-2/
[xvii] https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/womens-march
Good post.
Thanks so much for your comment. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I am still trying to work out the technical aspects of blogging.