The 250,000-person March on Washington was a resounding success, so most critics fell silent after the event. All the more reason to identify and reflect on the opposition that tested the moral courage and steely conviction required to pull off such a risky venture during such a volatile time in U.S. history.
Leading up to the March, President Kennedy was supportive, publicly. Behind the scenes, his administration feared the event would incite violence that would erode public support for the Civil Rights Movement and undermine Congressional support for the Civil Rights Act, which he had introduced on June 11. He knew that many Congressional members were looking for any excuse to vote NO.
Opposition came from within the movement, too. Malcolm X felt the event had been hijacked by white liberals and become a symbol of “integration” versus an expression of genuine Black frustration with racial inequality. And Stokely Carmichael wasn’t the only member of SNCC, which Lewis became Chairman of two months before the March, who believed the event kowtowed to President Kennedy and other white leaders at the expense of grassroots efforts to build genuine Black political power.
Several Black female organizers were concerned about the gender inequality within the Civil Rights Movement. Their voices – and recognition of their contributions – were largely excluded from the main program at Lincoln Memorial. And only one woman, Myrlie Evers, widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, was included in the official delegation that met with President Kennedy after the March.
Predictably, Southern Congressional members who opposed the Civil Rights Movement opposed the March. The core principle of the event – equal rights for all – was at odds with their fundamental beliefs. South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond tried to undermine the credibility of the March by accusing organizer Bayard Rustin, an openly gay man, of being a Communist and a “pervert.” At the same time, Southern media coverage of the March often minimized concerns raised by organizers.
American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell tried to organize a counter-protest at the base of the Washington Monument – without a permit. He had expected thousands of angry segregationists to join him. 74 showed up, fenced in by 200 policemen and National Guard MPs. When one of Rockwell’s supporters started to give a speech, he was arrested. Rockwell left, exclaiming that he was ashamed of his race.
The Ku Klux Klan also posed a threat. A private plane carrying Imperial Wizard of the United Klans of America (UKA) Robert Shelton crashed while departing Alabama for Washington, DC – the day before the March! At the time, Shelton’s Klan was the largest KKK faction in the world with an estimated 26,000 to 33,000 members. The UKA was also the most violent Klan organization.
In the end, President Kennedy was pleased and proud. Despite the barrage of opposition and threats faced by the “Big Six” civil rights leaders, the March mobilized more support for to the Civil Rights Movement and helped pave the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
But …
Right after the March, as if a warning, a photo of a cross-burning with 2,000 KKK members addressed by Robert Shelton aired – see news clip below. And two weeks after that, on September 15, Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church – a meeting spot for civil rights leaders – was bombed, killing four Black girls and injuring about 20 more congregants.
Each win, it seems, was followed by a profound loss.
In this video, John Lewis reflects on the March, his speech, and the role of compromise in building unity:
To be continued…
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