The March on Washington: Jobs, Freedom, and the Forgotten History of Civil Rights
Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech and the march that occasioned it were about not only racial harmony but also the freedom that comes with equal rights and economic opportunity, in other words, jobs. Jones examines the historic 1963 March on Washington from the perspective of its focus on jobs. He zeros in on labor leader A. Philip Randolph, who advocated for an increase in the minimum wage, extension of minimum wage law to agricultural and other workers left out of the federal law, and programs to train workers for well-paying jobs. Randolph’s life reflected the complex evolution of the labor movement in the U.S., the influence of socialism, and the racism within the unions that kept out black workers. By refocusing on the jobs agenda of the march, Jones notes that it was relatively easier to allow blacks to have access to seats on buses and at lunch counters than to provide them with access to jobs at the restaurants and bus companies. This is an important look at the true significance of the March on Washington. --Vanessa Bush