Beyond The Dream: Historical March On Washington 50th Anniversary Arrives With Black On Black Violence As The Greatest Struggle For African American People
It was a day unlike any other in the history of the United States as the people came, marching side by side, blacks and white people alike, singing spirituals, and songs of freedom. The social climate in America had reached a breaking point and on August 28, 1963 the people marched on our nation’ capitol to confront a racist American society, who had continued to oppress her citizens of color with unwithering relentlessness, and on that day a message was sent that social change must not only come, but rather expeditiously. Many had come fresh from jail cells of historically racist states such as Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and from all over the world to take part in what was describe at that time as “the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of America.”
It was an event which transpired before many of my generation had even been born. Hundreds of thousands of devoted freedom-fighters consisting of clergy, entertainers, politicians, and young Americans who took the call for drastic social change in this country directly to the door steps of the U.S. government. Leading the way was an articulate young Baptist Minister from Georgia name Dr. Martin Luther King. Kings great oratory prowess and distinct articulation, brought the message home clearly, decisively, and very poignantly. At stake was “the negro’s long night of captivity” on the shores of America, having been enslaved, lynched, raped of human dignity, and valued lesser than a human being. Jim Crow laws which promoted separatism through so called separate but equal legislation in many southern states of the country, had run it’s course, while the black man in American finally stood upright with profound indignation of his centuries of mistreatment at the hands of the ruling white class in America.
Rumors surfaced that there would be violence, but a well prepared team of organizers had successfully groomed marchers of the importance of peaceful protest. Fear had only developed within the white community because there had never been a protest of any kind by the negro in America the likes of which Dr. King and Southern Christian Leadership Council had brought to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on that day in 1963. Although the march failed to spark immediate sweeping social change in America, it was the foundation from which Civil Rights Laws for black people in America were ultimately born. However, the demonstration in it’s totality demonstrated to the U.S. government that the negro in America was now a developing organized community that would have to be reckoned with. Many of the surviving participants of the original march who were there that day, talk about the pride they felt when the black community came together, how they conquered racist hate through love and faith, and how the march was symbolic of what was to become of socialism in America.
Much of the accomplishments that were made during the Civil Rights era certainly most be attributed to Dr. King’s profound leadership, but if he were alive today, many say he would simply shrug off credit of any kind, and point to the cooperation of peaceful demonstrators who trusted his leadership and faith, by exposing themselves to vicious beatings at the hand of racist police, having police dogs let loose to attack them, attacked with high pressure water hoses, and jailed during peaceful protest for change. They say King would have given all credit to the people, and remark that he was only doing God’s will. Some historians say that King’s concept of protest through non violence is a hard campaign to sell considering the level of brutality many of the demonstrators endured.
Though King is rightfully credited for having made civil liberties a reality for blacks in America, his approach and idealism came with much criticism. Many other notable black leaders of his era were critical of the submissiveness of black people voluntarily offering themselves to senseless brutality in the name of peaceful protest. Malcolm X was once quoted as having called Dr. King “a glorious fool.” I might add that Malcolm’s remarks has merit considering many of the vicious attacks black people suffered during marches and protest, but the tactic was successful and brought much needed national exposure to the level of racist hate in our country, and literally showed America to it’s racist self via an international audience.
The Civil Rights era in America was an extremely turbulent time with war raging in Vietnam, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy. Malcolm X, eventually Dr. Martin Luther King himself, and all within the same decade.Fortunately freedom did come come for blacks in America at a violent, and costly price. A volume of people both black and white would perish through senseless violence on the road to freedom for people of color, and it’s a sacrifice that should be revered and cherished by every black person alive, because we have all benefited from the diligence of so many people who lost their lives so that all people could be free.
Sadly, the proper homage nor respect has not been given to the martyrs of black freedom in America. Many of our young people aren’t even aware of the march that took place in 1963, let alone the names of many of the notable leaders of that era, whose work and sacrifice is directly responsible for the very freedom they are now privileged with today. In fact, much of the social change which was orchestrated during the Civil Rights Movement has been inherited by an ungrateful, unworthy, and disgraceful generation that it is on a course of complete self destruction. Some will vigorously deny such assertion by pointing out that our youth face some of the greatest challenges unlike any other generation before their time.
Chiefly, it’s often promoted that many of the old oppressive tactics designed to suppress the social, educational, and economic development of black people are still at play in America, but are more covert, psychologically, and subliminally engineered to continue on a course of emancipation of black people as a whole. The American criminal justice system is often utilized as prima facie to substantiate the premise for argument related to indoctrinated systemic racism toward black people as a standard practice by white America. The alarming disproportionate rate in which blacks are incarcerated in this country in relationship to their counter parts of other ethnicity who are similarly situated in criminal cases, is categorized by many black scholars as being purposefully designed. However, though such arguments and other statistical data point to an unbalanced scale negatively impacting the black community, this is an area of disparity well within the scope of control of the black community itself.
Behavioral problems within our school system, in our communities, and within the black family as a whole is directly responsible for many of the incarcerations of black people detailed in most statistical data derived through research of the criminal justice system via the Department and Bureau of Prisons. In the 5 decades since we have fought for freedom, the black community in America has become more violent than societies within some of the most volatile places on earth, like Beirut, Iran, Mexico, and other traditionally violent third world nations around the globe. Every year in America black youth fall prey to violent street crime by the hundreds of thousands. Yet we continue to cry for freedom from white America when the black man is the most dangerous element that black people face within their own communities on a daily basis.
Moreover, leadership within the black community is for the most part non existent. Barring the blue collar working class parent diligently striving to impact their impressionable kids, grassroots efforts developed through community outreach from local churches, and other localized community based organizations there are no other prominent figures who standout readily prepared to take the reigns of guidance for a people vexed in a collective degenerate state of self inflicted oppression. When tragic stories like the Trayvon Martins, the Sean Belles, Rodney king, and other high profile cases of civil injustice occur, we see the race baiters the likes of defunct black leaders such as Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan, and other political opportunist suddenly gain some degree of manhood. Often times their efforts only serves to bring the social climate in America regarding race, to further divide claiming that such cases are an injustice to the black community. Don’t get me wrong, they actually are, but so are the other hundreds of thousands of crimes committed against black people everyday in America by others who look just like them.
Today people will converge on Washington once again celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the people’s march with a theme of justice and freedom for black people in this country. There is tremendous legitimacy in such a protest, but black leaders should also be discussing how unjust we are as a black community to allow the killings of our kids by other black people, to go on for so long without taking a stand for the preservation of our youth. Where is the outrage for that? Even with the kind of racist incidents that black people still fall prey to at the hands of sick white people, the probability of a black man being killed by a white person today is highly improbable. Dr. King risked his life and died for the freedom of his people, and today I am ashamed of what his dream has become within the black community.
David B. Adams is a journalist, crime writer, and founder of The People's Champion, a platform built on truth, justice, and advocacy for the overlooked. For over a decade, Adams has investigated wrongful convictions, missing and exploited children, homelessness, and the political forces that shape marginalized communities' lives.
What sets his work apart is a refusal to sensationalize. Adams treats crime reporting as human storytelling — pushing past headlines to examine the systemic failures in law enforcement, the courts, and government that so often go unexamined. He's built a reputation among activists and advocates for combining deep research, personal narrative, and unflinching commentary.
The People's Champion began as a personal outlet and has grown into a respected independent voice in crime and justice journalism, read by audiences nationwide who care about accountability and the people too often left out of the story.
