dr martin luther king i have a dream speech

These fears proved unfounded as almost a quarter of million people came to hear the speeches given that day, the largest demonstration in America at that point in time. This will not be safe.” and on the other, there was a fear that not enough people would show to show how much the public supported the goals of the march. Malcolm X called it the “Farce on Washington” and the Nation of Islam punished any members who attended.īefore the march there was an atmosphere and fear of potential violence, on one side Southern congressmen told their white female employees, “Stay home. Once he saw that he couldn’t stop it Kennedy supported the march but because of the concessions organizers gave Kennedy many prominent Black leaders were against it. The organizers agreed to tone down the rhetoric and keep the more militant organizations in check but refused to cancel the march. At first, the Kennedy Whitehouse was against the march as it might turn violent and hurt the passage of the bill. the march saw a joining of multiple parties who often were in disagreement.

Philip Randolph and organized by him, Bayard Rustin and Martin Luther King Jr. It was under this atmosphere that leaders from the civil rights movement planned a march to Washington to build political momentum behind the measure. The bill was quickly blocked by southern representatives in Congress. Kennedy tried to pass his bill on June 11, 1963, that a real attempt to give Blacks civil rights was undertaken. The federal government had for years tried half-heartedly to pass some kind of civil rights bill that would grant equality to all Americans. Space was limited so Wilson used a 24mm wide-angle lens on his 35mm camera. Climbing to the top of the cameramen’s stand Wilson took a number of shots of King waving to the crowd. Walking back down he talked with King and his entourage and King always on the lookout for iconic photos jumped at the chance for a front page photo. Seeing the crowd spread out he had an idea for a photo. Around noon he had wandered over to the speaker’s platform in front of the Lincoln Memorial and climbed to the top of the elevated cameramen’s stand. The cameras, film and other equipment weighed 38 lbs but that didn’t slow down Wilson.

G.Marshall Wilson started the day with 6:00 AM walking through the crowds with four 35mm cameras.

Dr martin luther king i have a dream speech