This Year’s March On Washington Calls For Economic Freedom – ‘Where Dr. King Left Off’

Thousands gathered on the National Mall today to observe the 60^th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Decades later speakers continued to call for equity in employment and opportunity for the nation’s Black Americans and other minorities.

Ambassador Andrew Young, who was with Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights organizers at the 1963 March when King delivered his ‘I Have A Dream’ speech, reflected on the years since that historic day.

“I was here 60 years ago, but I was also here 66 years ago in 1957. It’s been a long but wonderful struggle, and I’m here to tell you that I don’t feel no ways tired,” Young said. “We’ve come too far … and nobody ever told us it would be easy. But frankly as difficult as life is … there is no place on Earth that is any better than these United States of America.”

A watershed moment in the Civil Rights Movement, the 1963 March led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which banned segregation in public places and prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

But in recent years, conservatives have successfully waged efforts to dismantle the many of the advancements achieved in the ‘60s.

Founders of the Fearless Fund addressed the crowd and called out Edward Blum, the man behind the campaign to end affirmative action. Blum sued the minority-focused venture capital fund for unlawful racial discrimination. The firm focuses on funding solely to small-business owners who are Black women.

“We need legislation that protects women and people of color,” Fearless Fund founder Arian Simone said. “We need legislation that protects our economic freedom. We need equal access to capital that is equitable. We will not back down. We will win this fight. Economic freedom is where Dr. King left off, and economic freedom is where we will pick up.”

Legal experts have said if Blum and the American Alliance for Equal Rights prevail the lawsuit will stop many of the efforts to address current disparities within venture capital.

King’s family members addressed the crowd before this year’s march began.

Image Credits: Ron Busby.