Photo Credit: The National Archives and Records Administration
On August 28, 1963, along with more than 200,000 civil rights, labor and religious activists, Martin Luther King Jr. Marched on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Fifty years later, United Steelworkers (USW) will be traveling from across the country, converging on Washington D.C., to honor this historic event which included King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech and contributed to the passing of the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965).
“Since the beginning, the cause of civil rights has gone hand-in-hand with the cause of organized labor.” says Leo W. Gerard, USW International President. “Labor leaders such as A. Phillip Randolph and Bayard Rustin were the driving forces behind the 1963 march. They recognized then, as we do today, that the American Dream cannot be achieved without true economic justice, and that economic justice cannot be achieved until all workers have the freedom to organize.”
There has been great progress over the last 50 years, but we realize there is still so much more to fight for. This weekend Steelworkers will join thousands of other activists to not only commemorate this historic event, but to stand up together for our rights that are still under attack – the right to vote, the right to a decent wage, the right for affordable healthcare and many more.
If you are attending the events in Washington D.C. this weekend, please share your thoughts and photos with us online. On Instagram and Twitter, use #USW_MOW and don’t forget to mention @Steelworkers. On Facebook, tag United Steelworkers (USW) in your photos and posts.