50 years later, let’s march again on Aug. 17

SEATTLE — This month we will be observing the 50th Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was on Aug. 28, 1963, that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the historic and inspirational “I Have a Dream” speech. As we reflect on the achievement embodied by this momentous event, we must also acknowledge the difficult road that lies ahead if we are to fulfill our country’s full promise of justice and liberty for all.

Please join union members and community supporters in celebrating the strides made over the past 50 years and in looking ahead to the struggle for jobs and freedom for all. In Seattle, a march, rally and celebration cook-out is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 17. The march will begin at 10 a.m. and start at 23rd & E. Union Street and conclude at MLK Memorial Park, 2200 Martin Luther King Way S. The rally and celebration cook-out there will be from noon to 6 p.m.

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom that happened 50 years ago mobilized hundreds of thousands of labor and civil rights fighters. This unity eventually won the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“Dr. King used to say, ‘The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice’,” said Jeff Johnson, President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. “We, brothers and sisters, are the force that bends that moral arc towards justice. Today we march in Seattle. Next week we march in D.C. And after that we keep organizing and marching until we reach economic and social justice for all.”

Event sponsors include the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), the MLK Jr. Celebration Committee, A. Phillip Randolph Institute, NAACP, United Black Christian Clergy, Church Council of Greater Seattle, M.L. King Jr. County Labor Council.

For more information, contact Jacquie Jones-Walsh at 206-245-9542 or Loretta Gutierrez of the Pierce County CBTU at 253-359-2367, or email PugetSoundChapterCBTU@gmail.com.