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. KAMLAGER- 
DOVE, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. LANDSMAN, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. 
JACKSON LEE, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. MCCLEL-
LAN, Mr. MFUME, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, 
Ms. SEWELL, Mr. THANEDAR, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. WIL-
SON of Florida, Mr. DOGGETT, and Mr. MCGARVEY) submitted the fol-
lowing 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 partici-
pated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Free-
dom 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 Ran-
dolph, 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 Rob-
inson; 
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, includ-
ing 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 Bay-
ard 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 de-
cent housing, the right to vote, and a national minimum 
wage; 
Whereas participants in the March on Washington also de-
manded 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 foun-
dations 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports 
the designation of ‘‘March on Washington Commemora-
tion Day’’. 
Æ 
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