On August 28th 1963, more than 200,000 individuals conglomerate peacefully on the National Mall to promote the civil rights movement. John Lewis had prepared a speech which included scathing remarks against the Kennedy administration, but was eventually persuaded by A. Philip Randolph (a key civil and labor rights leader) to lessen the harshness of the speech in order to prevent any potential violence. Lewis successfully spoke in front of the population, and delivered a toned- down version of the speech that originally possessed a malevolent rhetoric. At this event, Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” while standing before the watchful eye of the Lincoln Memorial. This speech was an outright success, but the march had eventual, unintended repercussions. Soon after, the Ku Klux Klan bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church, killing 4 and injuring fifteen more. This bombing served to increase turmoil within the civil rights movement by hinting at a lean towards a violent uprising. Despite the retrospectively minimal negative outcome, The March on Washington was a resounding success, and served to demonstrate not only the power of unity, but also the support for the civil rights movement.
Source: "The March on Washington." Web.3 Jun 2009. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/story/08_washington.html>.
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