History Commons^™

Through the media attention on this anniversary, it has been gratifying to once again see the cover of Life magazine (September 6, 1963) with Randolph and Rustin standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial. At the time of the March, most Americans had viewed these two men as the real stars of the occasion. The 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom was actually the realization of their long-time “dream” to have a dramatic and peaceful demonstration that emphasized the need of all black Americans for economic opportunities and jobs, as well as the more elusive ideal of freedom.

This document project demonstrates the critical role women played in the 1940s March on Washington Movement (MOWM) during its formative period. African American women activists of the 1940s enthusiastically joined the MOWM because it promoted broad race-based employment goals. Although women found a welcoming place within the MOWM to fight Jim Crow, there was little room at this time for women to articulate their concerns about Jane Crow within the movement or society at large. Various factors kept female march activists from more fully developing an articulate feminist ideology in the 1940s: the effective and charismatic leadership of A. Philip …