Assignment 4- Stephanie Bailey

This is a picture of Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington as they peacefully protested that African Americans did not have equal rights. This historical even happened on Tuesday August 27, 1963 and on Wednesday, August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his influential "I Have a Dream" speech. In this speech he called for the end of racism and inequality. The signs that filled the air behind him, blocking out many of the other thousands of protesters walking alongside him, said things like "We march for jobs for all now!" and "End segregation rules in public schools". Segregation was abolished in 1954 but the discriminations towards African Americans were still fiercely prominent. People of every color marched in this 200,000 person protest in hopes of gaining political and social equality for all in America. This March did not shut down discrimination overnight but it did make politicians think seriously about equality. In the months that followed the March, violence and protests continued and finally, in 1964, the Civil Rights Act paved the way to racial equality. Furthermore, in 1965, the Voting Rights Act was set in place to give African Americans even more equal rights. The two bills together made discriminatory practices based on race illegal with employment and voting rights.