The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a mass demonstration in Washington, DC, in support of civil rights and economic justice for African Americans. Organised by a coalition of civil rights, labour and religious groups, led by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, it drew about a quarter of a million people, black and white, who gathered at the Lincoln Memorial. Speakers included John Lewis and others, and Martin Luther King Jr delivered his I Have a Dream speech, one of the most famous in American history. The march built public support for civil rights legislation, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 followed in the next two years.
Before and after
- 4 August 1963Founding of African Development Bank
- 9 August 1963Birth of Whitney Houston
- 21 August 1963Xá Lợi Pagoda raids
- 21 August 1963Birth of Mohammed VI of Morocco
- 28 August 1963March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
- 28 August 1963Martin Luther King delivers 'I Have a Dream'
- from 25 September 1963 to 20 February 1964Sand War
- 1 October 1963Founding of Nigeria
- 10 October 1963Death of Édith Piaf
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 12 March 1947 to 25 December 1991Cold War
- 15 August 1947India and Pakistan become independent
- 10 December 1948Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- from 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975Vietnam War
- 26 December 1991Dissolution of the Soviet Union
- 24 February 2022Full-scale Russo-Ukrainian war
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.