On Aug. 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and 300,000 Americans marched in the nation’s capital in an event originally known as the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” They demanded equal pay, job opportunities and rights, for all. At the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King spoke of a future of justice and equality in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Never before had the U.S. seen such a vast protest for human rights.
This year, the March on Washington was recreated when thousands of Americans gathered at the same place, on the same day, for the 57th annual march entitled, “Get Your Knees Off Our Necks.”
Even during the coronavirus pandemic, these Americans gathered to demand justice for Black Americans who have been the victims of police brutality.
“It’s exciting to be a part of something larger than you, and then made up of people like you,” Jonnathan Teklit, a recent college graduate who attended the march, said.
This summer was defined by global outrage and civil unrest surrounding the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two Black Americans who were victims of police brutality. Various news outlets covered violent protests in Portland, Chicago and other major cities.
According to The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), 93% of protests over George Floyd’s death were peaceful. Yet, in a study conducted by the Morning Consultant, 42% of Americans thought protestors attempted to incite violence.
“The way it’s been drummed up has certainly been problematic, and it raises a bunch of problems for people just trying to get the movement moving along,” Teklit said.
However, the March on Washington 2020 was peaceful, dedicated to calling for justice, and mourning the deaths of many unarmed Black Americans at the hands of the police. Thousands of masked and socially-distant protestors gathered at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where people passed out bottled water, extra masks and disinfectant. They held up colorful signs and screamed Breonna Taylor’s name as her mother, Tanika Palmer, cried during her speech.
Leaders of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Movement, among others, have expressed frustration with conservative media coverage surrounding protests and the movement to defund the police.
“Defunding the police sounds like ‘make the police go away,’ that’s ‘abolish the police’, which, by the way, I’m not against. The idea is just that you put more money into other community organizations and civic infrastructures,” Telkit said.
In an interview with NBC, Aliza Garza, a BLM co-founder, stated that “what we do need is increased funding for housing, we need increased funding for education, we need increased funding for quality of life of communities who are over-policed and over-surveilled.” Getting this message across was one of the main objectives of this year’s march.
Other political figures have expressed their views on the BLM movement and its related protests and marches. Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden, Senator Kamala Harris and some members of the Democratic party have publically supported protestors. Though, President Donald Trump and some members of the Republican party have denounced the protests. According to the New York Times, Trump called a BLM painting on New York’s Fifth Avenue “a symbol of hate.”
Despite these contrasting opinions, protests have continued across the country, resulting in even larger and more diverse numbers. Although some protests turned out to be violent, as depicted in this video from Phoenix, where protestors flung hot, activated teargas canisters back at police, most remained peaceful.
Aside from protests and demands for new legislation, people are calling for a changed school curriculum that teaches children about systematic and interpersonal racism.
“I’m fine with writing ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the street in front of the White House. I’m fine with changing it to “Black Lives Matter Plaza’ but I think without actual policy change, it rings hollow,” Telkit said.
It is reasons like this that thousands of Americans have gathered for events like the March on Washington 2020 and other protests around the world.
Article by Abby Nega of Winston Churchill High School
Photo by May Pham of Walter Johnson High School