11 june 1963 kennedy promised to do something about civil rights despite this civil rights leaders...

• 11 June 1963 Kennedy promised to do something about Civil Rights

• Despite this Civil Rights leaders knew it would be difficult to get a Civil Rights Law passed by Congress

• They needed to keep the issue of civil rights in the media and keep the support of the American public

• To keep pressure on the Federal Govt Civil Rights leaders organised a ‘March on Washington’

• 28 August 1963 250,000 people gathered beside the Lincoln Memorial

Why?

• It was President Lincoln who had freed the slaves 100 years before

• Martin Luther King led the march

• The march was one of the biggest demonstrations in American history

• At the Lincoln Memorial Martin Luther King gave his most famous speech ‘I have a dream’

• All 3 national TV networks carried his speech live

• Americans were moved by King’s dignity and passion

‘... I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character... I have a dream that even the state of Mississippi will one day be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. So let freedom ring out. When we allow freedom to ring from every town and every hamlet, from every state and every city we will be able to speed up that day when all God’s children will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro song ‘Free at last! Free at last! Great God Almighty, we are free at last.’

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