Saturdays with Seniors: Rita Revisits the 1963 March on Washington

Yesterday, August 28, was the 57th anniversary of The historic March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Today’s Saturdays with Seniors guest blogger Rita Sussman was there that day, and she generously agreed to let us publish her memories of that historic event.

by Rita Sussman

A few months after I’d graduated from Cornell, my friends and I took the train from New York City to march with thousands of others through Washington streets. Heady with empowerment, we urged bystanders along the way to join us in this historic crusade.

Dangling our feet in the cool of the Reflecting Pool at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, we were flush with the excitement of merging our individual selves in the ocean of bodies sprawled on the mall. I strained to hear the voices of amplified civil rights activists, while laughter and conversation — even some guitar music — threatened to drown out words of incitement and inspiration.

Masses of people extended far beyond the few small spaces we occupied. There was constant movement within the throng, greetings bubbled among comrades unexpectedly reunited, couples leaned against each other, and friends lounged on laps. Alongside demonstrators from all over the country, I was saturated with this moment’s importance and the impressive force for change we represented.

In the heat of that August afternoon, a hush settled as Dr. King took the podium, beginning his speech with a reference to the Emancipation Proclamation:”One hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.” Towards the end of his speech, prompted by Mahalia Jackson’s cry: “Tell them about the dream, Martin!”[Dr. King veered away from his prepared notes to describe his dreams of freedom and equality. The “I have a dream” part mesmerized his listeners.

In 1960, when I was a college freshman, I had ridiculed President Kennedy’s ”My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country” inaugural address. Sitting by the Reflecting Pool three years later in 1963, my friends and I scoffed at King’s stentorian delivery and dismissed the idealism which inspired it. Not having the benefit of historical hindsight or schooling in public oratory, we were singularly unimpressed. We’d heard words like that before, promising a new birth of freedom even though Negroes were being beaten and discriminated against and still were segregated throughout the South.

Fifty-seven years later, I am tolerant of young progressive activists just embarking on their political journey, not yet comprehending the full scope of a nation’s political landscape. I remember my dismissive attitude towards Kennedy and King and the years I voted for Dick Gregory (rather than the “apologist” Hubert Humphrey who ran against Richard Nixon) and for the candidate affiliated with the Socialist Workers Party — all in order to register my disaffection with mainstream politicians. Like me, a 21-year-old college graduate who thought society needed to be restructured rather than reformed, some young people today think deciding not to vote — even if it contributes to a Trump electoral victory — is worth it. Better that than cast their ballot for Joe Biden, a middle-of-the-road liberal who would “sell out“ their radical agenda for true change in this country.

Looking back on King’s speech, much has changed for Black Americans. His dream of full equality in a just society, however, is still that: a dream. Could we, the young people of yesterday and protesters of today be right? Gradual reform is not enough!