Ms. Manion
English III
November 7, 2016 Civil Rights Movement
It's saddening to say that inequality exists in America, and even worse to say that it currently affects African Americans the most. From century to century, this major issue has slightly gotten better over time due to the greatest known African Americans to exist. Before the civil rights movement even occurred, African Americans had it bad enough already and have came a long way from that horrid, not so distant past. Equality means everyone is treated fairly, but in America equality means superiority over others. It's unfair to be treated differently and wrongly based on your race, religion, etc., and should one day come to a complete end. The Star Spangled Banner …show more content…
The March on Washington began in 1962 when Asa Philip Randolph, founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, came up with the idea of putting together a massive gathering on Washington, D.C. to draw attention to the economic and social difficulty of the county's African American population. Randolph came in contact with the nation's leading civil rights organizations and leaders to contribute their support to the march and persuaded President John F. Kennedy to endorse the march. As plans that were made stabling and increasingly progressed, Randolph gave a civil rights activist, Bayard Rustin, the heavy task of coordinating and directing the planning and arrangements for the march. Rustin and his crew of voluntary workers worked ‘around the clock’, meaning no wasted time, to make necessary arrangements to spread out the word of the upcoming march throughout the country, and thousands of worried and uneasy supporters prepared to make their journey to the nation's Capitol. On August 28, 1963, an estimate amount of 250,000 people, including almost about 450 members of Congress, gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to listen to the scheduled performances and speeches. Randolph along with Roy Wilkins, John Lewis and others delivered motivating and touching speeches before Martin Luther …show more content…
King delivered the organization's supplies to the Poor People's Campaign in 1967, in response to the numerous breakouts of riots that had recently occurred in New York, New Jersey, Chicago and Los Angeles. The goal of the campaign was to highlight the difficulty of the poor and to push the country's lawmakers to pass federal regulations to improve the economic and social conditions for the poor. Members of the SCLC, Southern Christian Leadership Conference were in the middle of planning a massive protest of the poor in Washington, D.C. In the result of King's death, Ralph Abernathy took over leadership of the SCLC and vowed to continue work on the Poor People's Campaign in memory of his fallen ally. In May of 1968, protestors traveled the nation's Capitol, by foot, car, bus, a horse with a carriage, and mules. The protestors lived in Resurrection City, a camp set up on the National Mall, with dining and daycare locations, a dispensary, and a City Hall. Thousands of civilians began to fill up Resurrection City and performed daily presentations at the offices of government officials and their agencies. Despite the efforts of the organizers and participating civilians, the Poor People's Campaign and their march on Washington failed to gather the specific and important response needed from the country's legislators. On June 19, 19, at the Lincoln Memorial, Resurrection City closed and the Poor