BHM: Local professor explains the impact of media during the March on Washington

DELMARVA – The March on Washington emphasizes the importance of media.

Happy Black History Month! Back in August of 1963 Black people came together for the March on Washington. A. Phillip Randolph pushed for the March on Washington as more and more civil rights leaders and organizations joined the cause throughout the Spring and Summer of 1963. The movement for jobs and freedom, which brought more than 200,000 people together. Activists, protestors,  and speakers all protested the racial discrimination of African Americans across the United States. One Salisbury University history professor tells us it was all part of the community asking the federal government to take a stand against injustice.

“Really to push for African American equality and get rid of the violence that have plagued African Americans, not for the past several years, but for the past several centuries,” Gonzalez says.

Martin Luther King Jr. was one activist who spoke up at the march for equality. Professor Aston Gonzalez says his words had such a great impact on people, that they still refer to King’s I Have A Dream speech today. School children often learn and memorize the famous speech. Now that the evolution of media has brought widespread access to things like videos of such events, more black voices can be heard.

“Have your voice heard. Record it. Circulate it. Give yourself a platform,” the professor adds.

The March on Washington was the culmination of many years of activism by Black women and men to demand change from the federal government. Professor Gonzalez says by speaking up, you challenge the gaps and silences that might occur.