Why We March: The March on Washington and the March for Our Lives
In this lesson, students will take a deep dive into the motivations of Americans who participate in non-violent protests throughout history.
Portrait of A. Philip Randolph, 1942.
Source: Gordon Parks, Library of Congress.
Philip Randolph was one of the initial proponents of the March on Washington and was a part of the “Big Six” which identified the core civil rights leaders involved with the March. During World War II, he proposed a “March on Washington” to protest racial discrimination in the nation’s armed forces and defenses plants, although the march was called off after President Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order outlawing discrimination in war production industries. In 1962 Randolph and fellow activist Bayard Rustin Proposed a new march on Washington, which they felt could only succeed if all the civil rights organizations worked together. They were joined in June 1963 by Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders, who agreed that a nationally relevant event was needed in order to move things forward.
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