Senior Democrats and leaders of the civil rights and labor movements marked the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington by summoning a younger generation of activists to fight for a restoration of the Voting Rights Act to ensure universal access to the ballot box. As thousands ringed the Mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial, speakers mixed themes of the past and present in paying tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the iconic “I Have A Dream” speech he delivered to combat racial discrimination. “Those days, for the most part, are gone, but we have another fight,” thundered Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the civil rights veteran and House Democrat who is the last surviving speaker from the 1963 March on Washington. “There are forces who want to take us back. But we can’t go back.” Lewis and other leaders in the movement found a rallying cry in the June decision by the Supreme Court to strike down a key section of the Voting Rights Act, which has prompted states like Texas and North Carolina to move ahead with laws requiring voters to show photo identification. “I am not going to stand by and let the Supreme Court take the right to vote away from us,” Lewis said. He urged the crowd to “make some noise” and “get in the way” to protect universal access to the polls. “The vote is precious,” he said. “It is almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in our democracy, and we have to use it.”
Lewis was 23 when he spoke at the March in 1963. A year-and-a-half later, he was beaten by police in Alabama as he led civil rights demonstrators across the bridge in Selma.
In addition to voting rights, speakers alluded to the Florida killing of Trayvon Martin and other racially-charged cases to denounce racial profiling and state-based “Stand Your Ground” laws. Democratic lawmakers and union leaders pushed for an increase in the minimum wage and other measures to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor.
Speaking before Lewis, Attorney General Eric Holder said that while the nation civil rights leaders envisioned five decades ago has not yet been fully realized, “it is finally within our grasp.”
“Today, we look to the work that remains unfinished, and make note of our nation’s shortcomings, not because we wish to dwell on imperfection – but because, as those who came before us, we love this great country,” Holder said. “We want this nation to be all that it was designed to be – and all that it can become.”