Changing America: March on Washington Participants

At the March on Washington Aug. 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. began his speech by declaring, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.

The Smithsonian is marking the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Aug. 28, 1963, with a series of public programs and exhibits. All events are free and open to the public.