The Organizers Initially, the March on Washington was supported by leaders of the “Big Six” civil rights organizations: James Farmer, Congress of Racial Equality (CORE); Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., .Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC); John Lewis, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); A. Philip Randolph, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; Roy Wilkins, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); and Whitney Young, National Urban League. The march was planned to take place on August 28, 1963 and Bayard Rustin was named chief coordinator of the March. A short time later, the sponsoring committee was expanded to included religious and labor interests: Matthew Ahman, National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice; Reverend Eugene Carson Blake, Commission on Race Relations of the National Council of Churches; Rabbi Joachim Prinz, American Jewish Committee; and Walter Reuther, UAW & AFL-CIO. The published demands of the march organizers were: the passage of meaningful civil rights legislation; the elimination of racial segregation in public schools; a major public-works program to provide jobs for unemployed workers, Negro and white; the passage of a law prohibiting racial discrimination in public and private hiring; a $2 an hour minimum wage; and a new Executive Order banning discrimination in all housing supported by federal funds. Details about the purpose, sponsors and plans for the organization and conduct of the march were included in an “Organizing Manual No. 2”
Posted on: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 00:45:54 +0000
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