The March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom
Learning from the past to Lead in the future
Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee that although Thou hast brought us to this pleasant land as slaves and chattels, Thou hast also stricken the chains from our arms and our legs and set us free, free in some areas, not in others; free in some respects, not in others. But most of all, there is freedom of speech and freedom of action. These next days, as we perfect our plans to march on Washington and demonstrate our intentions to be fully free at any cost, strengthen the courage of our leaders, reassure the weak, confound our enemies, and on Wednesday, August 28, 1963, march with us. Amen.
~ A Prayer by Carl Murphy, editor and publisher of the AFRO-AMERICAN Newspapers (1922-1967), before the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Today marks the 62nd anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This march was organized by leaders of the Civil Rights Movement to advocate for the Civil Rights Bill proposed by President John F. Kennedy. Leaders like John Lewis (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, SNCC), Roy Wilkins (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP), Whitney Young (National Urban League), A. Philip Randolph (Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters), James Farmer (Congress of Racial Equality, CORE), and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Southern Christian Leadership Conference, SCLC).
Although these women leaders have received more recognition now, they should be listed alongside their male counterparts to demonstrate the holistic nature of this Movement. Women like Diane Nash (SNCC), Rosa Parks, Daisy Bates (NAACP), and Ella Baker, to name a few.
Few leaders have demonstrated leadership quite like those of the 20th century’s Civil Rights Movement. My definition of leadership is: the ability to organize, mobilize, and systematize a group of people towards a shared mission. The leaders present at the March on Washington demonstrated their ability to transform organizations, cities, and eventually an entire nation. They embodied this definition of leadership.
They loved, led, and labored for a chance to experience whole lives. Knowing that it would not only take Black Americans, but all Americans to see this dream fully realized.
Not only was this Movement a civic one, but it was also a spiritual movement, or, to use an American Evangelical term, an Awakening. To that end, Jonathan Tremaine Thomas wrote a powerful article, "The Unrecognized Great Awakening," about viewing the Civil Rights Movement as America’s Fourth Great Awakening. In it, he says:
The awakening I see is not the rise of the Religious Right, as has been proposed elsewhere. It is the Civil Rights Movement, which exhibited that same pattern of calls for repentance and revival followed by tangible social impact... Perhaps those—Christian or not—who aren’t active participants in the Black worship tradition have undervalued or overlooked the hand of God in instigating and sustaining this movement and its transformation of American society… But whatever the reason, historians and theologians alike have failed to acknowledge or embrace this awakening led by the Black church (or, indeed, to embrace the Black church itself)… The Civil Rights Movement under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. was not a revival in the sense of a mass public proclamation of the gospel of salvation. But from my vantage within America’s freedom experiment, its defining characteristic was mass demonstration of the fruits of salvation (Matt. 7:15–20).
There were immense victories that emerged from this Movement, and a great spiritual revival that took place in the hearts and homes of many across America. The nation saw legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, born out of tragedy and triumph, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. There were also significant Civil Rights decisions, such as the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. Their leadership and sacrifices mattered in the lives of everyday people and the life of a nation.
As the Founder & President of Forged: Birmingham Leadership Foundation, I work with leaders every day, helping them to clarify their mission, lead from the inside out, and be courageous and consistent in their leadership. We work together to discover how we can shape the future through innovation and learn from our past leaders who shaped their world.
I have two observations from this work: The first is that we seem to have a dichotomy in the world of leadership. We have a growing number of emerging leaders who are zealous and ready to meet the challenges of today. On the other hand, we have a group of existing leaders who have faithfully been in the fight but have grown a bit weary from the constant battles they’ve faced.
While this is an oversimplification, I see far too many leaders who are weary, isolated, lonely, and flat-out exhausted—yet they have not given up hope. I view it as my mission to work alongside both groups to help them start, run, and complete their endeavors successfully. To Endure Together. Just as these Civil Rights Leaders learned to do.
These leaders are why I wrote this article. There are still many leaders who are unfamiliar with this history, yet they lead in African American contexts. This is true whether these leaders are Black, White, or of Any Other Racial Background. I link to all these sources and have resources available below, as I want this to serve as a valuable resource for leaders. Whether you are tired and weary, need a reminder, or haven’t delved deeply into this history, this resource is for you. Save it. Click on the links. Ask questions in the comments. We are leading through perilous and uncertain times in every sector of American life. You don’t have to lead alone. The leaders above didn’t.
I’ll leave you with these words from Michelle T. Sanchez
They [The Christian Civil Rights leaders] would pray before marching to center themselves in the nonviolent Spirit of God. Then they would march and sing, meeting tremendous resistance and even injury. This would prompt them to pray and rely on God for the power to love and forgive, which again would prompt them to engage their neighbors. This cycle is the key to quiet strength.
Resources for Further Study
NAACP (website)
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center - (Website/Museum - Cincinnati, Ohio)
National Museum for African American History and Culture - (Website/Museum - Washington, D.C.)
The King Center - (Website/Museum - Atlanta, GA)
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University -(Website)
Equal Justice Initiative - (Website and The Legacy Sites - Montgomery, AL)
Additional resource guide filled with Books, Articles, and Documentaries