国立アメリカ歴史博物館さんのインスタグラム写真 - (国立アメリカ歴史博物館Instagram)「"I Was There": this small pennant was one the countless signs and banners that protesters carried during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom—held today in 1963. The march was the largest civil rights demonstration the nation had ever witnessed. 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, an estimated 250,000 Americans gathered to petition the government to pass meaningful civil rights legislation and enforce existing laws establishing racial equality. Tensions were high in the months leading up to the march. An unprecedented number of demonstrations swept the country in the first half of 1963. Civil rights organizations demanded the right to vote, full access to jobs and education, and an end to segregated public accommodations. These demands met with strong resistance and violence from local governments. Justice Department records list more than 978 demonstrations in 109 cities, with over 2,000 arrests and four deaths, including the murder of NAACP leader Medgar Evers in Jackson, Mississippi. The march was conceived by A. Philip Randolph, leader of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, coordinated by Bayard Rustin, and supported by almost all the major civil rights organizations and many labor unions and religious organizations. When news of the march reached White House, President John F. Kennedy asked that it be canceled, fearing it would stymie a civil rights bill in Congress. Civil rights leaders refused. Unable to stop the march, Kennedy worked to ensure its success by encouraging administration officials to fully cooperate with the march organizers. As the day of the march approached, no one new what to expect. The capital braced for the worst. When August 26 came, none of these fears were realized. Instead, an estimated 250,000 marched, sang civil rights anthems, and listened to speakers, who included A. Philip Randolph, John Lewis, James Farmer, Walter Reuther, and Martin Luther King, Jr. The success of the March on Washington and the achievements of the modern Black freedom struggle reverberated throughout society and continue to provide a model for social change. #AmericanHistory #CivilRightsHistory #TDIH」8月28日 22時38分