Fifty years ago, on August 28 1963, hundreds of thousands of protestors rallied together for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Today, another group of impassioned activists gathered on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall to protest the ongoing injustices and inequalities. 

The Capitol Hill National Caucus organized the rally to draw attention to the continued marginalization of Americans. The Caucus joined together less than two months ago under the leadership of Ted Hayes, a leading advocate for the homeless population. The coalition’s main aim is to address the ongoing obstacles created by America’s history of Chattel slavery and Jim Crowe Laws.

At Wednesday’s Promissory Note Civil Rights Rally, Hayes proclaimed the necessity of taking the time to look at the effects of ongoing legislation on the black community. 

The rally intertwined performances with political speeches in an attempt to appeal to audience members’ hearts as well as their minds. The event included Gospel music and a recitation of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Famous “I Have A Dream Speech” in a celebration of the power of words as a motivator of change. 

Barbara Demus, one of the founding members of Capitol Hill National Caucus shared her story about the challenges of integration. 

“I got on the very first bus that integrated in Los Angeles and drove to Torrance, California,” Demus said. She went on to describe what it was like as a first grader to have people shake the bus on which she sat, to have members of the National Guard escort her to class, and to have spitting, kicking and cursing by her peers be part of her daily routine. 

“We are not quite where we were, but we are not quite where we need to be,” Demus said regarding the current state of racial equality in America. “We need to reinstate the dream, reinstate the hope, and reinstate the drive to get black people—boys as young as 18 years of age—out of homelessness.” 

Like Demus, the other speakers emphasized the need for an immediate course of action, to finally cash the figurative check that Martin Luther King Jr. emphasized in his famous speech. They called for legal and social action to right the historical wrongs that African Americans living in the United States have faced—not as immigrants, but as human cargo, brought here without consent. 

Today’s demonstration—along with the hundreds of others that have been happening around the country—recognize the need to keep fighting to create a country that Americans can be proud of, rather than simply accepting the country that we have now.   

Contact Associate News Editor Sara Newman here and follow her on Twitter.