Existing comment:
On the Podium:
On the steps of the memorial, A. Philip Randolph opened the program and served as the day's moderator. The program began with an invocation and included music, a tribute to the "Negro Women fighter," and speeches from six civil rights groups and four supporting organizations.
Acknowledged as the most gifted speaker within the movement, Martin Luther King Jr. had the honor of giving the concluding address. In a day of inspiring speeches, his call for justice stands out as one of the most powerful in American history. His speech echoed the words of the Bible, the Constitution, Lincoln, and the national anthem. He wove together long unfulfilled promises, the injustices of a segregated society, and a vision of a renewed nation. In repeating "I have a dream" again and again, he summed up the aspirations of the march and the demands of the Civil Rights Movement. |