IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 661 

Honoring the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and 

Freedom, and calling on Congress to fulfill the demands of the March 

participants, including decent housing, the right to vote, and a fair 

wage. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 22, 2023 

Ms. NORTON (for herself, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, 

Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. BROWN, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CASE, Mrs. 

CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mrs. WATSON

COLEMAN, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DELBENE, Mrs. 

FOUSHEE, Mr. FROST, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. IVEY, 

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAMLAGERDOVE, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. LANDSMAN, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. 

JACKSON LEE, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. MCCLELLAN, Mr. MFUME, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, 

Ms. SEWELL, Mr. THANEDAR, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. DOGGETT, and Mr. MCGARVEY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 

Accountability 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington 

for Jobs and Freedom, and calling on Congress to fulfill 

the demands of the March participants, including decent 

housing, the right to vote, and a fair wage. 

Whereas, on August 28, 1963, some 250,000 people participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, DC; 


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•HRES 661 IH 

Whereas the March on Washington marked the centennial of 

the Emancipation Proclamation; 

Whereas the March on Washington was the largest civil 

rights protest of its time; 

Whereas civil rights activists also marched that day in Berlin, 

Munich, Amsterdam, London, Oslo, Madrid, The Hague, 

Tel Aviv, Cairo, Toronto, and Kingston, Jamaica; 

Whereas the March on Washington was led by the ‘‘Big Six’’ 

of the Civil Rights Movement, James L. Farmer, Jr., 

Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, and Whitney M. Young, Jr.; 

Whereas the March was attended by Josephine Baker, Harry 

Belafonte, Marlon Brando, Bob Dylan, Dick Gregory, 

Charlton Heston, Lena Horne, Mahalia Jackson, Rita 

Moreno, Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, and Jackie Robinson; 

Whereas women were excluded from the official program of 

the March; 

Whereas, nonetheless, the March on Washington for Jobs and 

Freedom was only possible because of the courageous 

work of women in the Black Freedom Movement, including Ella Baker, Daisy Bates, Septima Clark, Myrlie 

Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy Height, Coretta 

Scott King, Pauli Murray, Diane Nash, and Rosa Parks; 

Whereas the logistics of the March were coordinated by Bayard Rustin, who also pioneered nonviolent, direct action 

protest theory; 

Whereas the March on Washington was organized in response 

to ‘‘the twin evils of racism and economic deprivation’’; 


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•HRES 661 IH 

Whereas the demands of the March participants included decent housing, the right to vote, and a national minimum 

wage; 

Whereas participants in the March on Washington also demanded home rule for the District of Columbia; 

Whereas the March culminated in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, 

iconic ‘‘I Have a Dream’’ speech; 

Whereas in his ‘‘I Have A Dream’’ speech, Martin Luther 

King, Jr., called the March on Washington ‘‘the greatest 

demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation’’; 

Whereas Dr. King’s speech exhorted Americans to ‘‘to make 

justice a reality for all of God’s children,’’ and added that 

‘‘the whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice 

emerges’’; 

Whereas civil rights organizing led Congress to pass the Civil 

Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; 

Whereas Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated on April 

4, 1968; and 

Whereas the demands made by the March on Washington 

participants for decent housing, the right to vote, and a 

fair wage remain unfulfilled: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports 

2 the designation of ‘‘March on Washington Commemora3 tion Day’’. 

Æ 


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