For the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, we are featuring an hour of special programming: First, the forgotten history of the March on Washington—it aimed to end much more than racial segregation in the South. For that we turn to WILL JONES, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and author of the new book The March on Washington: Jobs, Freedom and the Forgotten History of Civil Rights.
Also: the behind-the-scenes battle over censoring the speech planned by John Lewis, the spokesman for SNCC, the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee – today’s he’s a member of congress and the only surviving speaker from that day. Stanford university historian CLAY CARSON will explain–his classic history of SNCC is In Struggle.
Plus: a new perspective on what people DO remember from that day: “The Speech” by Martin Luther King. GARY YOUNGE, the award-wining columnist for the Guardian and The Nation, will comment on the way the speech has been profoundly misunderstood—how King emphasized the need for economic redress for centuries of discrimination. His new book is The Speech: The Story Behind Dr. Martin Luther King’s Dream.
