WASHINGTON: Thousands of Americans on Saturday commemorated the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, a pivotal event in the 1960s U.S. civil rights movement at which Martin Luther King Jr gave his galvanizing "I have a dream" speech.
The 1963 march brought more than 250,000 people to the nation's capital to push for an end to discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Many credit the show of strength with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This year's rally took place at the Lincoln Memorial, the backdrop to King's impassioned call for equality, as many speakers warned that much work was yet to be done.
Margaret Huang, the president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center nonprofit civil rights advocacy group, told the crowd that the march 60 years ago opened doors and spurred new tools to fight discrimination.
But new laws throughout the country that "claw away at the right to vote" and target the LGBTQ community threaten to erase some of those gains, Huang said. "These campaigns against our ballots, our bodies, our school books, they are all connected. When our right to vote falls, all other civil and human rights can fall too, but we're here today to say 'not on our watch.'"
Speakers decried gun violence against Black people as the crowd chanted "No Justice, No peace."
Ashley Sharpton, an activist with National Action Network and daughter of the Reverend Al Sharpton, said in a speech that Americans need to "turn demonstration into legislation" and cannot allow the sacrifices of ancestors in the fight for equality to have been in vain.
Kimberle Crenshaw, executive director of the African American Policy Forum, said the anniversary occurs at a troubling moment.
"The very history that the march is commemorating is being not only challenged but distorted," Crenshaw said, referring to bans in several states on books and classroom instruction based on so-called critical race theory, which views a legacy of racism as shaping American history.
She called that and other moves such as the removal of an African American Studies course from public schools in Florida and Arkansas a "concerted effort to silence conversation about that history."
Opponents of CRT say it distorts history and is needlessly divisive and upsetting for students.
Speakers at the march include civil rights leaders such as King's son Martin Luther King III, his granddaughter Yolanda Renee King and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.
In terms of the goals envisioned in King's "dream," the country has come a long way since 1963, said Jonathan Greenblatt, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, which played a role in the campaign for the Civil Rights Act's enactment.
But, he said, recent Supreme Court rulings setting back affirmative action and access to abortion were a cause for concern.
"We've seen an expansion of antisemitism, we've seen an intensification of racism," said Greenblatt.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday will meet with march organizers at the White House to mark the 1963 meeting between organizers of the original march and the administration of President John F. Kennedy.
Reuters
Mon Aug 28 2023
Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, his wife Arndrea Waters King, Yolanda Renee King, 15-year old granddaughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and actor Sacha Baron Cohen carry a banner as demonstrators for racial justice march. - REUTERS
14 rumah terjejas ribut landa Kuala Muda
Antara kawasan lain yang terlibat ialah Kampung Teluk Wang Besar, Kampung Teluk Wang Kechil, Kampung Bukit dan Kampung Masjid.
Manfaatkan teknologi AI dalam sektor pendidikan
Perbincangan diperlukan mengenai cara-cara untuk mengintegrasikan AI ke dalam sistem pendidikan secara berkesan.
AWANI Pagi: Berita tumpuan & menarik di astroawani.com [29 April 2024]
Antara fokus Awani Pagi bersama Geegee Ahmad & Afiezy Azaman;
IPR: Peniaga nasi kukus raih jualan RM14,000 sebulan
Waspada ejen nikah Siam
Pindaan Garis Panduan Lawatan: Sekolah diharap susun semula program – Fadhlina
IPR: Peniaga nasi kukus raih jualan RM14,000 sebulan
Waspada ejen nikah Siam
Pindaan Garis Panduan Lawatan: Sekolah diharap susun semula program – Fadhlina
TotalEnergies setuju tingkat pelaburan di Malaysia - PM
TotalEnergies menyatakan komitmen dan bersetuju untuk mempertingkatkan pelaburan dalam sektor huluan minyak dan gas.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Ramasamy perlu bertanggungjawab jika pengundi pilih pemimpin tidak tepat - Ramanan
Jika kempen tolak undi PH itu berjaya, Ramasamy perlu berdepan penduduk Kuala Kubu Baharu sekiranya timbul masalah pada masa hadapan.
Jiwa SME: Permintaan daun moringa meningkat, jadi tumpuan luar negara
Berdasarkan laporan Vodus Market Research, sebuah firma penyelidikan dan analisis data pasaran dalam talian, kira-kira 71 peratus penduduk di negara ini mengambil suplemen pada 2021.
Nilai pasaran suplemen negara juga menunjukkan peningkatan ketara dalam tempoh 2014 hingga 2019, iaitu daripada RM2.07 bilion kepada RM3.1 bilion. Angka itu dijangka terus meningkat pada masa akan datang.
Nilai pasaran suplemen negara juga menunjukkan peningkatan ketara dalam tempoh 2014 hingga 2019, iaitu daripada RM2.07 bilion kepada RM3.1 bilion. Angka itu dijangka terus meningkat pada masa akan datang.
Biden kekal tidak sokong pencerobohan di Rafah
Mesej itu disampaikan menerusi perbualan telefon dengan Perdana Menteri Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu pada Ahad.
Biden kekal tidak sokong pencerobohan di Rafah
Presiden Amerika Syarikat, Joe Biden bercakap dengan Perdana Menteri Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, pada Ahad.
Tiga perkara perlu dilakukan bagi elak kemusnahan di Gaza
Presiden Palestin Mahmoud Abbas menyuarakan tiga perkara yang perlu diberikan pertimbangan masyarakat dunia dan mengiktiraf Palestin sebagai negara merdeka termasuk ahli penuh Persatuan Bangsa Bangsa Bersatu (PBB). Beliau berkata demikian di Mesyuarat Khas Forum Ekonomi Dunia (WEF) di Riyadh hari ini.
Delegasi Hamas ke Kaherah bincang gencatan senjata
Satu delegasi Hamas akan melawat Kaherah untuk rundingan yang bertujuan untuk mendapatkan gencatan senjata, pada Isnin.
Just Married! Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are husband and wife
Markle entered the chapel unescorted, dressed in a flowing white gown created by British designer Clare Waight Keller and wearing a veil and diamond tiara.