Bayard Rustin Reflects on the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
"In this oral history Bayard Rustin offers his opinion about why the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, held on August 28, 1963, was a success. Rustin was an organizer of the march along with many others, including A. Philip Randolph, an African-American labor leader. Randolph had also organized the March on Washington Movement in 1941 which, through the threat of a mass march on Washington, persuaded President Franklin Roosevelt to issue an executive order banning discrimination in government employment, defense industries, and training programs. The 1963 march is best known for the stirring oratory of the "I Have a Dream" speech delivered by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr."