• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Body
  • Daily Resist
  • POLITICS
  • Travel
  • Music
  • Theatre
  • Film
  • TV
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Men
  • Marriage Equality
  • Space
  • Trans Rights
  • Books
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • TowleREAD

Thousands Arrive in D.C. to Commemorate 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

August 24, 2013 by Andy Towle

Marchonwashington

The Washington Post is publishing live updates from today's commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington:

The rally will include speeches from Attorney General Eric Holder, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and the Rev. Al Sharpton, among others. At 12:30 p.m., a march will leave the Lincoln Memorial, pass the memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and travel to the Washington Monument.

Live coverage here.

Starting with today's march, the nation will begin a series of events commemorating this historic civil rights moment leading up to the 50th anniversary on Wednesday of MLK Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech" at the Lincoln Memorial where Presidents Obama, Clinton, and Carter will speak.

ByardEliza Byard, the Executive Director at GLSEN, will be speaking at Wednesday's event, GLSEN reports:

Dr. Byard is the only leader of an LGBT organization selected to speak at the event.

Said Byard: “I am humbled and honored to represent GLSEN at the anniversary of one of the landmark moments in United States and world history. Dr. King and March on Washington organizer Bayard Rustin are personal heroes who have inspired me and influenced our work at GLSEN to create a better world for all. GLSEN has spent more than 20 years working to eliminate injustice and inequality directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in K-12 education, and I look forward to delivering a message of hope for a brighter future where every young person has an equal opportunity to get an education.”

GLSEN partner organizations working predominantly in the South nominated Dr. Byard to speak at the event, and the King Center selected her for the honor.

BondNAACP Chairman Emeritus, Julian Bond, in an email from the Human Rights Campaign, writes:

In August 1963, I was the Communications Director for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), led at the time by John Lewis, the march's youngest speaker that day.

A gay black man by the name of Bayard Rustin was one of the chief organizers – an early embodiment of the unity and commonality that bonded the movement for LGBT equality with the fight for equal treatment of African-Americans.

In his honor, HRC will help lead a commemoration of Bayard's incredible contributions to the civil rights movement on Monday. And it was recently announced that President Obama will posthumously award Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the highest civilian award in the United States.

Fifty years later, I can still feel the power of that noble, August day. Its weight is what drove me for years – from founding the Southern Poverty Law Center, to overseeing the NAACP as Chairman, not to mention the ten terms I served as a member of the Georgia legislature. And later, that exact same commitment to achieving equal rights is what convinced me to stand with the Human Rights Campaign in endorsing marriage equality.

Together we have marched millions of miles to land on the right side of history, and today we stand firmly planted, hoping only that more will join us, one by one, until everyone in this nation is truly free and equal. I know you are with the marchers today – in spirit and in solidarity – and I hope you'll follow the news coverage of today's powerful events.

(top image via david mixner, lower image via steven portnoy twitter,  8/24/2013)

2013

Filed Under: GLSEN, News Tagged With: GLSEN, Martin Luther King, Jr., News, Washington DC

Recent Posts

  • ‘A Conway Marriage Story’ Features Kate McKinnon’s Kellyanne and Beck Bennett’s George in an SNL Parody of the Netflix Film: WATCH

    ‘A Conway Marriage Story’ Features Kate McKinnon’s Kellyanne and Beck Bennett’s George in an SNL Parody of the Netflix Film: WATCH

    5 hours ago
  • Kate McKinnon’s Greta Thunberg Warns America That Political Debates are the Least of its Worries in SNL’s Cold Open: WATCH

    Kate McKinnon’s Greta Thunberg Warns America That Political Debates are the Least of its Worries in SNL’s Cold Open: WATCH

    5 hours ago
  • Dallas Men Plead Guilty to Federal Hate Crimes for Luring Gay Men to Violent Attacks Using Grindr

    Dallas Men Plead Guilty to Federal Hate Crimes for Luring Gay Men to Violent Attacks Using Grindr

    1 day ago
  • Hallmark Pulls Gay Wedding Ad After Pressure from ‘One Million Moms’

    Hallmark Pulls Gay Wedding Ad After Pressure from ‘One Million Moms’

    1 day ago
Previous Post: « Harry Potter Actor Calls Casting Of Gay Actors And Gay Characters ‘Ridiculous’
Next Post: Giant Panda Gives Birth at Washington’s National Zoo: VIDEO »

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Ptown Hacks 2019

download ptown Hacks

Recent Posts

  • ‘A Conway Marriage Story’ Features Kate McKinnon’s Kellyanne and Beck Bennett’s George in an SNL Parody of the Netflix Film: WATCH

    ‘A Conway Marriage Story’ Features Kate McKinnon’s Kellyanne and Beck Bennett’s George in an SNL Parody of the Netflix Film: WATCH

    5 hours ago
  • Kate McKinnon’s Greta Thunberg Warns America That Political Debates are the Least of its Worries in SNL’s Cold Open: WATCH

    Kate McKinnon’s Greta Thunberg Warns America That Political Debates are the Least of its Worries in SNL’s Cold Open: WATCH

    5 hours ago
  • Dallas Men Plead Guilty to Federal Hate Crimes for Luring Gay Men to Violent Attacks Using Grindr

    Dallas Men Plead Guilty to Federal Hate Crimes for Luring Gay Men to Violent Attacks Using Grindr

    1 day ago
  • Hallmark Pulls Gay Wedding Ad After Pressure from ‘One Million Moms’

    Hallmark Pulls Gay Wedding Ad After Pressure from ‘One Million Moms’

    1 day ago
  • Pete Buttigieg Bothered to Be in Trump’s Dreams: ‘I Want Absolutely Nothing to Do With Them’ — WATCH

    Pete Buttigieg Bothered to Be in Trump’s Dreams: ‘I Want Absolutely Nothing to Do With Them’ — WATCH

    2 days ago
  • Impeachment Vote, Dua Lipa, Human Rainbow, Annette Bening, Danny Aiello, Baseball, Elizabeth Warren: HOT LINKS

    Impeachment Vote, Dua Lipa, Human Rainbow, Annette Bening, Danny Aiello, Baseball, Elizabeth Warren: HOT LINKS

    2 days ago
  • Fishermen Save Bald Eagle Caught in the Grip of a Giant Octopus: WATCH

    Fishermen Save Bald Eagle Caught in the Grip of a Giant Octopus: WATCH

    2 days ago
  • Gabon Bans Gay Sex, Penalizes it with 6 Month Prison Term

    Gabon Bans Gay Sex, Penalizes it with 6 Month Prison Term

    2 days ago
  • Ridiculous Michael Bloomberg Campaign Dance Goes Viral: WATCH

    Ridiculous Michael Bloomberg Campaign Dance Goes Viral: WATCH

    2 days ago
  • New Argentine President’s Drag Queen Son Rocked a Rainbow Flag Pocket Square at the Inauguration This Week: WATCH

    New Argentine President’s Drag Queen Son Rocked a Rainbow Flag Pocket Square at the Inauguration This Week: WATCH

    2 days ago
  • Mitch McConnell to Hannity: ‘We All Know How it’s Going to End … No Chance the President’s Gonna Be Removed from Office’ — WATCH

    Mitch McConnell to Hannity: ‘We All Know How it’s Going to End … No Chance the President’s Gonna Be Removed from Office’ — WATCH

    2 days ago
  • House to Approve Articles of Impeachment Against Donald J. Trump: WATCH LIVE

    House to Approve Articles of Impeachment Against Donald J. Trump: WATCH LIVE

    2 days ago
  • Larry Kramer, Trans Model Search, Eric Holder, Lachlan Murdoch, ‘In The Heights’ Movie, Pete Buttigieg, Vassar: HOT LINKS

    Larry Kramer, Trans Model Search, Eric Holder, Lachlan Murdoch, ‘In The Heights’ Movie, Pete Buttigieg, Vassar: HOT LINKS

    3 days ago
  • GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz Called Out for DUI After Ripping Hunter Biden for Substance Abuse in Impeachment Hearing: WATCH

    GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz Called Out for DUI After Ripping Hunter Biden for Substance Abuse in Impeachment Hearing: WATCH

    3 days ago
  • Trump Supporters Warn of Civil War, Violence if He is Removed from Office: WATCH

    Trump Supporters Warn of Civil War, Violence if He is Removed from Office: WATCH

    3 days ago

Ptown Hacks 2019. Download Now!

Follow @PtownHacks on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and sign up for the Ptown Hacks email list.

Most Commented

Footer

Read

  • Politics
  • Travel
  • Film
  • Theatre
  • Television
  • Science
  • Law – LGBT Rights
  • Columns
  • Specials

About

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2019 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in