The March on Washington

The People Come and Come and Come

The morning of August 28, the day of the march, had arrived. Protestors had come from all over. A group of thirteen teenagers from Brooklyn traveled on foot over 280 miles over the course of the last thirteen days. Twenty-seven-year-old Ledger Smith had roller skated over 700 miles from Chicago, and eighty-two-year-old Jay Hardo rode his bicycle from Dayton, Ohio. Thirteen-year-old John Hochheimer boarded a bus from Virginia alone. He had heard about the violence and segregation in the South, and it reminded him of the evils his Jewish family experienced during the Holocaust. Other protestors poured out of the trains at Union Station at 7:30am, from Chicago, Detroit, Tallahassee, and other cities around the country.

The protestors met at the National Mall for the march to begin at 11:30am. They sang freedom songs and gospel tunes, which made them feel united. Well-known singers like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Mahalia Jackson,and Peter, Paul and Mary entertained the crowd. Famous figures like Jackie Robinson, Marian Anderson, Sammy Davis Jr., Charlton Heston, Diahann Carroll, and Marlon Brandon were there. By 11am, nearly 100,000 had gathered.

The march was to begin at 11:30am, led by the organizers. But they were surprised when around 11:20am, the group of people began to move. The march had begun without them.

Getting to Washington D.C.

Melody asks her mom how long it takes to get to Washington D.C. They didn’t sleep well the night before, wondering if Yvonne made it safely. Mommy replies they should be there by now. Then, the phone rings. Melody jumps to answer the phone. It’s Yvonne. Melody can hear her dropping coins into the pay phone.

Yvonne says it’s wild there. There are so many buses that they had to park in a long line and walk to where the march is starting. There’s thousands of folks there from everywhere. Buses from California, Louisiana, and she overheard someone speaking with a British accent. It seems like their calls for equal rights in America have been heard around the world.