Dont Just Remember the March. Remember WHY We Marched

As you all well know today marks the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  50 years ago today, hundreds of thousands of people stood in solidarity in the nation's capital, demanding equal pay, equal rights, and equal opportunity.  On this day 50 years ago Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the most important, relevant, graceful, and eloquent speeches in human history.  Today we honor his efforts, his works, and the efforts of those who risked everything to stand up for justice and equality.  That said, while we commemorate and celebrate this historic event, we should be mindful that in many ways we are no closer to Dr. King's dream and it could be argued that we have drifted further away from it.  In some ways we have forgotten the purpose of march and have failed to carry on the legacy of Dr. King. 

50 years after the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom we are still fighting for jobs.  The unemployment rate in the US is still a staggering 7.4 percent.  There is still a considerable wage gap between whites and POC.  We have watched corporate wages skyrocket while the minimum wage in this country has stagnated and many Americans are working 40 hour a week jobs while living in utter poverty.  The top 20 percent controls 80 percent of the nation's wealth.  Black people in particular have been hit hard.  Black people account for 25% of workers unemployed for 99 weeks or longer.  There are 2.6 million black people looking for work that can't find a job.  50 years after the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, those numbers are absolutely unacceptable.

50 years after the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom we are still fighting for freedom.  Minorities still do not receive equal justice under the law.  Police continue to murder young black men at an astonishing rate.  Blacks are still disproportionately incarcerated for the same crimes as whites.  We have seen innocent black children murdered and cold blood and watched their killers walk free.  Minorities are still subjected to the negative stereotypes that serve to relegate them to a permanent underclass.  We witnessed the Supreme Court basically eviscerate the civil rights Voting Act of 1965.  We still lack the opportunities that would allow us to succeed.  50 years after the March on Washington, this is absolutely unacceptable.

I am not going to be long winded here.  You are going to hear many speeches today.  You are going to hear many people speak about Dr. King, the march, and so forth.  I just want people to remember that while we commemorate this important day in our nation's history, we should conscious of the TRUE purpose of this march.  We should be fighting.  We should be protesting.  We should be ever vigilant.  Don't just remember the march.  Remember WHY we marched.  Remember what the march was about.  Remember what inspired the march.  Don't just hold hands and sing and chant "Free at Last" or "I have a Dream".  Remember what this was about.  Frederick Douglas once said "If there is no struggle, there is no progress". Remember that this is still a struggle, not a celebration.

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