A Young Kid’s Journey to Social Justice: The Impact of the 1963 March on Washington

I never knew as a young kid that the 1963 March on Washington with Martin Luther King Jr. would set me on course for my life’s mission and work.

Although I was too young to understand the politics and historical and systemic racism, I understood how wrong discrimination was. I went on the March because many of my friends and their parents were going. I went on the March because I was angry that some of my friends wouldn’t have been allowed in the same restaurants, schools, and other places if we lived in the south, and I went because at the time I’d never been out of the Bronx.

But when I left the March, I knew on a visceral level that a big change was coming and that I wanted to be part of that change.

The Power of Unity

At the March on Washington in 1963, I saw people of all colors marching, chanting, and listening. I saw people of different, ages, religions, and genders and from all over the country sharing a profound experience, and I knew that I had a lot to learn and that I had to keep learning if I was going to be part of that change,

At the March on Washington in 1963, I saw people being welcomed no matter what they looked like, I saw people talking to people with whom they might never have otherwise come in contact, I saw thousands of people on all sides of the street waving when the buses bringing more people rolled in, and I will never forget the chill I got when our bus rolled in. I had never experienced a feeling like that before. I felt the collective optimism of over 250,000 people.

A Life-Changing Experience

I never knew that the March on Washington in 1963, would be a pivotal moment in US history, not until I was much older. But that day helped create the foundation and passion for my own future, and eventually my work in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging ++, and social justice for all.

The Power of Unity

On that day, though too young to understand on an intellectual or political level, I felt what it meant to be part of something greater than myself. I saw what could happen when a diverse mass of people came together for a common goal to create change. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I could articulate the depth and meaning of that day. And even though I may not have understood all the speakers, I felt their message, and I remember them.

Sixty years! We must keep moving. We can never forget or discount the major forces trying to turn us back in every way, denying African American history, teaching kids that slaves learned useful skills, banning books that talk about race and even the holocaust, taking away voting rights, and worrying that the truth will make white people uncomfortable, so they make up more lies.

A Call to Action

That day, in 1963 there were people of all colors, ages, gender, etc. We need to take charge of the racist narrative that creates fear of differences and hate. Together we can be empowered and show examples like the March on Washington of the power we must make change when all people come together with one voice and act in unison.

Today I continue to bring people together to eliminate fear of differences, stop hate, and spread love across the globe. I do it in my work as a consultant and facilitator and with my podcast Everyday Conversations on Race for Everyday People, www.raceconvo.com

Many of the people who were in Washington DC on that day are no longer with us, and for those of us still here, we are looking to you the generations who came after us to keep it moving with a collective vision and purpose, and “don’t let nobody turn us around.”