On August 28, 1963,  200,000 plus Americans gathered in Washington, D.C., for a political rally. They marched for equal access to jobs and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. African Americans had endured harsh laws, known as Jim Crow in the South. Jim Crow Laws existed in states like Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas.  They were created during the Reconstruction era that followed the Civil War. These laws prohibited newly freed African Americans from accessing certain specific Civil Rights. For example: education, voting, jobs, government positions, and housing.  These laws were still being used in the 1960s.  The people that marched on Washington, D.C. in 1963, wanted the government to pay attention and take action against these political and social challenges African Americans were facing in the country.  This march included people from all ethnic backgrounds across the nation, not just African Americans. Other groups who could not March on Washington chose to show their support by marching in their hometowns. Like the picture to the left, from Maine.  Martin Luther King Jr.  Spoke at this rally.  He gave his famous 

“I Have A Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  He spoke about his dream of a country where his four children could live in a nation where they would not be judged by the color of their skin but instead by the content of their character.  This march and speech were the beginning of a long hard fought battle for African American civil rights. 

Ella Baker and other civil rights activists are shown promoting the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. The MFDP was formed to help incorporate African Americans into the Democratic Party meetings. The MFDP protested, in 1964, at an all white National Democratic Convention, in Atlanta in efforts to gain voting rights . The MFDP were offered two non-voting seats but declined. The offer was declined because it did not allow them to vote. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party ultimately failed their mission to vote at the convention but did bring more attention to the issue. 

From then to now, African Americans have gained the right to vote along with many other rights but still face discrimination throughout the country. A new civil rights movement has begun which is known as the Black Live Matter movement. The BLM was founded by Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors, who are civil rights activists much like Ella Baker.

In the photo above, I would have to say it is understandable that the African Americans are getting notified and informed about voter registration by white man who is explaining. This photo connects to today by the idea about being registered. An example would be Hispanics trying to get registered as a citizen they will have the right to vote as an American citizen. This picture connects to my topic, Freedom Summer, by having the right to be a registered voter. 

In 1963 the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had done what they can best  to register African American voters in Dallas county in central Alabama. The focus of those efforts was the county seat, Selma where only about 1-2 percent of eligible black voters were registered.

The march resumed on Sunday March 21, with court protection through Federal District court judge M. Johnson, Jr, who had overviewed the right to march for African Americans and the mobility they had for being African American in favor of judge M. Johnson. This time, 3,200, versus and initial 600, Marchers had headed east out of Selma across the Edmund Pettos Bridge and onto montgomery. By the time they reached the capitol on Thursday, March 25 they were 25,000-strong. Less than five months later, president lyndon Johnson signed the voting Rights Act of 1965…. In the best way to fix how wrong/unfair the African Americans are being treated. As for today African Americans are equal to the whites now better than they were in the 60’s but still do get treated differently by the police force.