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The March On Washington, 50 Years Later

Colin Hale |
August 24, 2013 | 5:35 p.m. PDT

Executive Producer

Fifty years after the historic civil rights march on Washington, D.C. and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, tens of thousands of people converged again on the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday to remember that day in 1963 and hear from leaders and activists in the "unfinished" civil rights movement.

Speakers included Martin Luther King III, Rep. John Lewis, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker.  The five-hour "Realize the Dream" rally and march was organized by Reverand Al Sharpton's National Action Network, a civil rights group. The family of Emmett Till and Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybina Fulton, also spoke during the rally.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder also spoke during Saturday's rally, touching on the millions of Americans who worked for civil rights but went unacknowledged.

Saturday's rally was commemorating the 1963 March on Washington/via Flickr CC
Saturday's rally was commemorating the 1963 March on Washington/via Flickr CC
"For them I would not be attorney general of the United States and Barack Obama would not be president of the United States," Holder said.

While Saturday's event was focused on the anniversary of the 1963 march for civil rights, the 2013 event also focused on issues like immigration reform, gay rights, gender equality, voting rights, gun control, and education.

The 50th anniversary was also commemorated at other marches and rallies across the country.

Read more about the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington at the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Reach Executive Producer Colin Hale here. Follow him on Twitter.





 

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