Res. No. 986
Title
Resolution commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the August 28th, 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Body
By Council Members Foster, Barron, Boyland, Clarke, Comrie, Gerson, Koppell, Lopez, Monserrate, Quinn, Reed, Rivera, Seabrook, Serrano, Vann and Weprin
Whereas, On Wednesday, August 28th, 1963, our nation was revolutionized when more than 250,000 people marched on Washington to demand jobs, decent pay, integration of our nation's public schools and effective civil rights; and
Whereas, The 1963 March on Washington nationalized the fight for civil rights and made it part of the national agenda; out of it grew the great civil rights statutes of the 20th century-the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the 1968 Fair Housing Act; and
Whereas, The March on Washington marked the first time the major civil rights organizations collaborated on a national endeavor. The vision of an interracial community of Americans, coming together peacefully to petition their government for equality, represented the best of American idealism; and
Whereas, The march's themes became unity, racial harmony, and especially, a cry to "Pass the Bill," which referred to passage of meaningful civil-rights legislation; and
Whereas, In the words of President John F. Kennedy, the march continued "in the great tradition" of American protest; and
Whereas, The March culminated with the now legendary "I Have a Dream" speech delivered by the late Martin Luther King, Jr., in which Dr. King envisioned a world where "children would one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character"; and
Whereas, Today, forty years later, the March on Washington still stands as a watershed moment that helped shape the course of our nation's history for successive generations; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York commemorates the 40th Anniversary of the August 28th, 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
WA
LS#2899
D-Res.
7/30/03
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