'An Increasing Stream...Approached the Washington Monument'
Ms.
Martha
Wason,
Asheville,
North Carolina
August 28, 2003, marked the 40th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for jobs and dignity. I was fortunate to have been a participant in this demonstration for racial equality.
I was working for the YWCA in a small town in northern New Jersey at that time, and the national YWCA sent all local affiliates information about the march. Two other women and I decided to go, and some of the teenage members of our association asked to go with us. Their parents gave permission, but we felt we could not accept the responsibility for other people's children in the face of possible violence and arrest. We did take food, water, first aid equipment, and our Bibles to read if we were jailed.
We began the drive to Washington, D.C., early on the morning of the 28th and soon began to see other cars, station wagons, and buses in an increasing stream. As we came close to Washington, the only vehicles on the road were those going to the march, and we waved and shouted to the passengers in them.
We got to the Washington, D.C., YWCA and met with hundreds of other women. We all walked to the Washington Monument, led by women carrying a YWCA banner. Again, an increasing stream of folks approached the Washington Monument, where we heard folksingers, joined in singing "We Shall Overcome," and ambled toward the Lincoln Memorial.
When we arrived at the Lincoln Memorial, we all settled down to hear musicians, civil rights leaders, and celebrities. Bayard Rustin scheduled Martin Luther King last. After Dr. King spoke, we all left Washington, encouraged to continue to strive for racial equality in all areas of life.
