August 29, 2023: Contextualizing the March on Washington: 1957 Prelude

[August 28th marks the60th anniversary of the March onWashington for Jobs and Freedom, one of the single mostimportant events in 20th century American history.So this week I’ll AmericanStudy a handful of contexts for and from thatevent—not including MartinLuther King Jr.’s iconic speech, about which I’ve written agood bit already!]

On how a1957 march directly foreshadowed 1963, and how it differed.

As part ofmy 2021 MLK Day series Ishared a paragraph from my most recent (then forthcoming) book, Of Thee I Sing (2021), where I analyzedKing’s 1957 speech “GiveUs the Ballot” as an example of critical and active patriotism. That speechwas delivered at the 1957 PrayerPilgrimage for Freedom march on Washington, so check out that post (thefirst hyperlink above) if you would and then come on back here for more on that1957 event.

Welcomeback! King delivering a potent headlining speech at both the 1957 and 1963 marcheswasn’t a coincidence, and it’s not simply a reflection on his incredibleoratorical gifts (although yes, that too). The 1957 march built on theplanned 1941 one I discussed yesterday (logically enough, as it too was plannedby A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, although this time the amazingactivist and leader EllaBaker played a central role as well), but it even more directlyforeshadowed 1963: a gathering of tens of thousandsof protesters (the largest civil rights demonstration in American historyto that point) at the Lincoln Memorial, featuring both speeches andmusical performances, culminating in that powerhouse closing speech from King. Ofcourse the Civil Rights Movement, like any social movement, repeated similar tacticsin multiple moments and settings; and as I mentioned yesterday, Randolph andcompany quickly realized the power of marches on Washington (whether just plannedas in 1941 or executed), so it stands to reason they’d keep using thatstrategy. But it is nonetheless striking how parallel the 1957 and 1963 marcheswere.

Parallelisn’t identical, however, and I’d highlight two subtle but significantdistinctions between the two marches. One was the central role of a politician,Democratic Congressman AdamClayton Powell Jr. (a minister turned representative from Harlem) in bothplanning the 1957 march and delivering another speech.Like any politician, Powell had to keep politics in mind, and so for example heasked the march’s planners to do what they could to keep from embarrassing PresidentEisenhower (an understandable but still fraught request). Perhaps inresponse to that request (although a genuine element of the event to be sure),the 1957 march was framed not as a social protest but as areligious occasion, a “Prayer Pilgrimage” as the official name indicated. Comparedto the 1963 march, for example, the musical performances in 1957 leaned moreinto spirituals and less into contemporaryfolk music (although 1963 certainly featured spirituals as well, as I’lldiscuss later in the week). Both Powell and King were ministers, so this corereligious thread was hardly a surprise—but it did reflect a somewhat distincttone from the 1963 march, and helps us consider another layer to such eventsand the Civil Rights Movement as a whole.

Next Marchcontext tomorrow,

Ben

PS. Whatdo you think?