March marks 60 years since the organization’s founding and historic civil rights demonstration featuring MLK’s legendary ‘I Have a Dream’ speech
WASHINGTON– The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law will join what is expected to be thousands of people at the Lincoln Memorial on August 26 at the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in reflection of the historic demonstration’s enduring significance to the civil rights movement. As a co-chair of this year’s March, the Lawyers’ Committee is proud to stand with other civil rights organizations as we continue the fight for freedom, justice and equality.
“As we march in commemoration of the original March on Washington, we must never forget the challenges that our leaders faced then, the hatred that they endured, and the courage, resilience, and hope they displayed against seemingly insurmountable odds,” said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “That is a model for the ages and, as we face similar challenges today, a wayfinder to our ultimate destination—the future we deserve. A future that is democracy for all, not an outsized voice for some and autocracy for others. A future that heeds our voice, recognizes our power, and allows us the freedom to pursue the opportunities that were stolen from generations of Black people and other communities of color that came before us.”
In 1963, the March on Washington was the culmination of years of civil rights activism that helped galvanize support for both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Earlier that same summer, at the behest of President John F. Kennedy, a group of attorneys founded the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to help spearhead legal advocacy efforts in support of the advancement of civil rights for Black people and all people of color.
Rev. Al Sharpton, Mr. Martin Luther King III and Mrs. Arndrea Waters King, fellow co-chair organizations and leaders, as well as 60 national partner organizations will lead the March on Saturday. Collectively the co-chair organizations have described the anniversary March not as a commemoration but as a continuation of the “dream” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. originally outlined at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.
The Lawyers’ Committee will be joined by the following prominent civil rights organizations as co-chairs of this year’s March to honor the significant anniversary:
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC
- Anti-Defamation League
- Drum Major Institute
- The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
- Legal Defense Fund
- NAACP
- National Action Network
- National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
- National Council of Negro Women (NCNW)
- National Urban League
- UnidosUS
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to mobilize the nation’s leading lawyers as agents for change in the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the Lawyers’ Committee uses legal advocacy to achieve racial justice, fighting inside and outside the courts to ensure that Black people and other people of color have the voice, opportunity, and power to make the promises of our democracy real. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org.
