Today was the 50th Anniversary of the original March on Washington for Jobs and Justice in 1963. The original March is perhaps best known for Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. A commemorative march was held today. In addition to jobs and justice, marchers advocated gay rights, statehood for Washington DC, reproductive rights, voting rights in North Carolina and Texas, and a host of other topics. The route went past the US Department of Labor, the US Department of Justice, and finished near the Washington Monument. Marchers then continued on their own towards the Lincoln Memorial to hear a number of speakers — including King’s family members, President Obama, former Presidents Carter and Clinton, and others speak about equality, jobs, justice, education, and the economy.
The gathering point where the march started, on New Jersey Ave.
From “America the Beautiful”
Advocating for gay rights.
And reproductive rights
Viewers watching from on top of an office building. Those umbrellas weren’t for rain, they were protection from the fierce humid heat that day.
The U.S. Capitol with mounted police doing crowd control.
A critique of Republican opposition to numerous job, welfare, and voting rights measures.
These young men are apparently trying to make the point that not all African-American men wearing hoodies are on the cradle-to-prison pipeline.
Keep the dream alive.
I haven’t been to Washington DC since they started making repairs to the earthquake damage. Here, the Washington Monument is surrounded by scaffolding. The earthquake occurred almost exactly two years earlier, on August 23, 2011.
A small portion of the crowd heading towards the Lincoln Memorial after the March to hear President Barack Obama and others make speeches.
A portion of the crowd listening to speeches in front of the Lincoln Memorial. They stretched the entire length of the Reflecting Pool and spilled out towards the Washington Monument. The security lines were so long and the day so hot that I retreated to the Newseum and watched President Obama’s speech on the jumbotron within the museum. I took this photo from the balcony of the Newseum.
The White House
2026 Update:
The National Mall, the US Capitol, the Supreme Court, and their surrounding streets are frequently used for protests and demonstrations of various types. Other than the infamous January 6th insurrection in 2021, I’ve never heard of any violence occurring at any of the marches/demonstrations. Nevertheless, if I were a tourist going to Washington DC (and wasn’t planning on marching for that day’s cause), I’d probably want to steer clear of any protests going on that day. The Women’s Marches on Washington, the March for Science, etc., were joyous and peaceful – but ever since the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville (VA) in August 2017, I’ve become more cautious about American divisiveness. I’d hate to see an innocent tourist getting caught up in something they never intended.