So Glenn Beck and Company want to march on DC on the 28th. So does the Rev. Al Sharpton and Company. And so do a few other folks. Traffic is going to be hell that day...
A lot of the controversy surrounding Beck's march is the date itself, which happens to mark the 47th anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. (Please note that I did not refer to it as the 47th anniversary of the "I Have a Dream Speech"...read on and I'll explain). Naturally, some civil rights folks are upset that Beck would choose that day to protest, and in front of the Lincoln Memorial to boot.
Frankly, I don't care about Beck and his motivation for doing much of anything anymore. He claims this date choice was merely happenstance, and I am actually willing to take him at his word since I know he probably had no idea why that date would be significant to a bunch of folks he could care less about (you know, those of us who believe in social and economic justice). And why not let him take advantage of his good fortune in securing a permit at the Lincoln Memorial for it might serve to educate a few of the unenlightened in his crowd about the purpose of the date when it became noteworthy 47 years ago.
OK, so here is where I give a history lesson--originally, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (MoWJF for short) was planned by labor and civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph. It was envisioned as a mass civil rights protest in the Nation's Capitol, a reincarnation of an earlier protest Randolph had proposed in 1941. The earlier March on Washington Movement (MoWM) was about protesting segregation in the military and defense industry during World War II. Randolph threatened to bring 10,000, then 50,000, and then 100,000 black people to DC to protest but President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802 which desegregated the defense industry and opened up job opportunities to all Americans without regard to race, color or national origin. Fast forward to 1963 when blacks were still protesting for civil rights related to public accomodations and job opportunities. Randolph brought together a coalition of groups that would ultimately bring 250,000+ to Washington on August 28, 1963. It was at this rally (read here about how it evolved from a protest to a peaceful rally) that Martin Luther King gave his "Dream" speech.
Because I know and understand the back story, I am unfazed by the thought of Beck and his minions coming to DC. August 28th is not that sacred a day, and this is the 47th commemoration of an important rally that happened to offer us a great historical moment in the form of King's inspirational speech. But we must be cautious not to overstate its overall significance for in drawing too much attention to Beck's vanity stunt we commit the cardinal sin of historical marginalization. The civil rights movement did not begin and end on August 28, 1963.
Yes, I will probably attend Sharpton's counter-march, but not because I feel the need to send any messages to the Tea Party crowd. Nor am I motivated by the desire to remember any historic moments. I am going because the focus of the upcoming march is to address issues that affect us now--immigration, education, and criminal justice. While Beck's "Restoring Honor" march is about lamenting the past, I see Sharpton's march as a call for action to improve the future. Ultimately, I believe that the notable civil rights icons involved in the MoWJF 47 years ago such as A. Philip Randolph, Martin Luther King, and Dorothy I. Height would prefer a mobilization for action over yet another commemoration anyway.
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