[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 661 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 661

 Honoring the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and 
 Freedom, and calling on Congress to fulfill the demands of the March 
 participants, including decent housing, the right to vote, and a fair 
                                 wage.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 22, 2023

    Ms. Norton (for herself, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Ms. Williams of 
 Georgia, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Brown, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Carson, Mr. Case, 
Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mrs. Watson Coleman, 
  Ms. Crockett, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. DelBene, Mrs. Foushee, Mr. 
   Frost, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Jackson of 
   Illinois, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Kelly of 
Illinois, Mr. Landsman, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Lee 
of Pennsylvania, Mrs. McBath, Ms. McClellan, Mr. Mfume, Mr. Moskowitz, 
   Mr. Neguse, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. 
 Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Doggett, and Mr. 
McGarvey) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
               Committee on Oversight and Accountability

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Honoring the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and 
 Freedom, and calling on Congress to fulfill the demands of the March 
 participants, including decent housing, the right to vote, and a fair 
                                 wage.

Whereas, on August 28, 1963, some 250,000 people participated in the March on 
        Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, DC;
Whereas the March on Washington marked the centennial of the Emancipation 
        Proclamation;
Whereas the March on Washington was the largest civil rights protest of its 
        time;
Whereas civil rights activists also marched that day in Berlin, Munich, 
        Amsterdam, London, Oslo, Madrid, The Hague, Tel Aviv, Cairo, Toronto, 
        and Kingston, Jamaica;
Whereas the March on Washington was led by the ``Big Six'' of the Civil Rights 
        Movement, James L. Farmer, Jr., Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, A. 
        Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, and Whitney M. Young, Jr.;
Whereas the March was attended by Josephine Baker, Harry Belafonte, Marlon 
        Brando, Bob Dylan, Dick Gregory, Charlton Heston, Lena Horne, Mahalia 
        Jackson, Rita Moreno, Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, and Jackie Robinson;
Whereas women were excluded from the official program of the March;
Whereas, nonetheless, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was only 
        possible because of the courageous work of women in the Black Freedom 
        Movement, including Ella Baker, Daisy Bates, Septima Clark, Myrlie 
        Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy Height, Coretta Scott King, Pauli 
        Murray, Diane Nash, and Rosa Parks;
Whereas the logistics of the March were coordinated by Bayard Rustin, who also 
        pioneered nonviolent, direct action protest theory;
Whereas the March on Washington was organized in response to ``the twin evils of 
        racism and economic deprivation'';
Whereas the demands of the March participants included decent housing, the right 
        to vote, and a national minimum wage;
Whereas participants in the March on Washington also demanded home rule for the 
        District of Columbia;
Whereas the March culminated in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, iconic ``I Have a 
        Dream'' speech;
Whereas in his ``I Have A Dream'' speech, Martin Luther King, Jr., called the 
        March on Washington ``the greatest demonstration for freedom in the 
        history of our nation'';
Whereas Dr. King's speech exhorted Americans to ``to make justice a reality for 
        all of God's children,'' and added that ``the whirlwinds of revolt will 
        continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of 
        justice emerges'';
Whereas civil rights organizing led Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 
        1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965;
Whereas Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated on April 4, 1968; and
Whereas the demands made by the March on Washington participants for decent 
        housing, the right to vote, and a fair wage remain unfulfilled: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports the 
designation of ``March on Washington Commemoration Day''.
                                 <all>