The Joy of Marching

Wiki History!

Marching Podcast #1

Welcome back to rememberinghistory.com where we are remembering history and we’re making it every day! March is the month in which we focus on—surprise!—marching! Marching is one of the most common and I would say most effective ways to protest. And Americans have been protest marching since the country was founded.

Americans have marched for many reasons. American marched to protest the Stamp Tax—actually that march took place even before the United States officially existed. Americans have marched to protest wars like the War of 1812 and the Vietnam War. We have marched to protest racial inequality. We have marched to ensure the right to vote for women and people of color. We have marched to bring attention to and protest against police violence and gun “carry” laws. Americans have marched to show unity and solidarity with immigrants, refugees and other vulnerable and disenfranchised groups. Americans have been marching for almost 250 years and there is no reason to think that we will ever stop marching. In fact, I hope that we don’t stop marching because it is the hallmark of a democracy that people can “speak out” against their government’s action.

Of course, Americans aren’t the only people who march. I’m reminded of Gandhi marching against British rule in India. I’m also reminded of Black South Africans who marched against the violent and racist regime of apartheid. I can’t forget the suffragettes in England who marched to demand the vote for women AND for other social and economic rights for women. And, on a smaller but still important scale, I remember the students at Oxford in 1973 were marching and chanting: “What do we want? A student union! When do we want it? Now! What are we wearing? Dirty jerseys!” This was a major act of civil disobedience by Oxford students in violation of a strict and centuries-long dress code. And yes they DID get their student union. And India got independence from Britain. And apartheid was ended in South Africa. And English women got the right to vote. Marching works!

Yes, marching is a worldwide phenomenon to demand, to oppose, to protest and to bring attention to a problem and evoke emotion in people. Marching is effective. Marching is powerful. Marching makes history. So, this month (March), rememberinghistory.com salutes all of those brave, strong and committed people who get out and march. And just as people need marches, marches need people. And the people who brave the elements, the security forces, the wrath and power of the government, and the criticism of friends and family members to get out and march deserve our respect and our gratitude. So, this episode is dedicated to marchers and marches around the world.

In this first show about marching, we will look at some marches from the past. Some of the marches are VERY famous and iconic. Others are not-so-famous or widely-known. However, the common thing about all of these marches is that they were very effective in what they were trying to achieve. That takes us directly to our second podcast show this month which will discuss how to conduct a march effectively and how to participate in a march safely. Marches are often started by ordinary citizens just like you—individuals who CARE about an issue and want other people and their government to know about it and DO something about it. These were people who cared enough to get involved. And they made history. You can also make history and the next podcast show can help to you organize a march or participate in one.

One last bit of housekeeping then we’ll get straight to learning about marches in history:

First, if you enjoy this show, you can get more information at the Wiki history podcast page on Facebook. You will find pictures, short videos and a community of history lovers. There is also a place for comments, which I hope that you will leave for me because I really appreciate them and I do respond. Also, if you enjoy this show, please let others know about it. They might like it and find it inspirational too. We can all remember history AND we can all make history!

Finally, I just want to remind you that in 2017, the Wiki History podcast show is dedicated to the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington DC. Museums are a great way to bring history to life and to keep it alive for future generations. Wiki History is honored to be a part of this important process. For every person that listens to this podcast show, rememberinghistory.com will donate $1 to the National Museum of African American History & Culture. I also donate personally and I hope that you will too.

That’s enough for now. Let’s get started with this great and groundbreaking Wiki history podcast show. Today’s show is called “marches that made history.”

When I was remembering or reading about important marches, I found myself torn between marches that were huge—100,000 people or more—and marches that were relatively small—some were less than 50 people. We will discuss a march that had only ONE person. Which marches had the most impact? Which marches got media attention? Which marches changed laws and society? Which marches are still remembered?

What I discovered was nothing short of remarkable. Size didn’t matter! The number of people participating in the march was not as important as the organization, focus and determination of the marchers. Of course, participation is important—I really want to stress that—but I want to stress even more that the determination of the marchers was more important than any other factor. Their determination to affect change, to persist in the face of adversity, to be united in their cause, and to be committed to this form of nonviolent protest. With that said, let’s begin our journey down the memory lane of marching!

We will open with a small march that left a mark on the city of Oakland and perhaps beyond: The Twelve-Man March

This march was organized to bring awareness to the reality and the dangers of racial profiling. This was a great march: here’s what they did:

On July 19, 2013, twelve African American men marched to Oakland’s city hall. All the men wore business attire: suit, tie, dress shoes, etc. All the African American men presented as businessmen. They peacefully marched to city hall holding signs condemning racial profiling and the negative portrayal of African American men in the media.

In speeches at Oakland’s famous Ogawa Hall, the protesters cited the killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida and Alan Blueford in Oakland. Both were African American, young, and unarmed when they were killed. Alan Blueford killed by law enforcement. Trayvon Martin by a self-proclaimed neighborhood watch officer. No one was convicted in either killing. Racial profiling was the cause that identified (incorrectly and unjustly) these young men as dangerous criminals. Racial profiling had also been involved in other kinds of harassment of African Americans by law enforcement officers.

This was a small, but powerful and focused march that that brought awareness to racial profiling and presented a powerful vision of African American men that is rarely shown to the public.

Let’s jump back in time for a moment—and for some of the most famous marches. We’re going to the 1960s. This was a huge decade of social change and it witnessed LOTS of marches.

Of course, there was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom held on August 28, 1963. Did you know that was the FULL name of the march? The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his iconic “I have a dream speech.” There were an estimated 250,000 people in attendance—people of all races, ethnicities, genders and religious backgrounds. The focus of the march was to encourage President Kennedy to sign a civil rights bill that prohibited discrimination in employment, housing, education and the use of public facilities.

Also in the 1960s, staying with the same theme were the Selma to Montgomery marches. These were a series of three marches to demand the passage of a voting rights act. The marchers walked along Route 80 from Selma, Alabama to the capitol in Montgomery. On March 7, 1965, as the marchers peacefully crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, state troopers and county possemen attacked the unarmed marchers with billy clubs and tear gas after they passed over the county line. It was a violent and aggressive act by law enforcement that was witnessed by the entire country and even internationally. This event became known as Bloody Sunday.

The second march took place March 9. Troopers, police, and marchers confronted each other at the county end of the bridge, but when the troopers stepped aside to let them pass, King led the marchers back to the church. The third march started March 21. Protected by 1,900 members of the Alabama National Guard under federal command by President Johnson, and many FBI agents and Federal Marshals, the marchers averaged 10 miles (16 km) a day along the highway. The marchers arrived in Montgomery on March 24 and at the Alabama State Capitol on March 25.[11] With thousands having joined the campaign, 25,000 people entered the capital city that day in support of voting rights.

The route is memorialized as the "Selma To Montgomery Voting Rights Trail," and is designated as a U.S. National Historic Trail.

The Voting Rights Act was passed in that same year.

Another march that turned violent was an Anti-Vietnam War march, held on November 15, 1969. More than a half-million people marched on Washington, DC to protest the US sending troops to fight in Vietnam. This was just one of many marches opposing the Vietnam War—some were peaceful, some were not. But they all were impassioned and determined. (Just a separate note here: some people claimed that the Vietnam War was one of the first wars to ignite public protest and marches. Not true. The first major movement against an American war was to protest the War of 1812. These marches often did become violent, threatening President Madison and members of Congress.)

Leaving the 1960s, the Reagan presidency (1981 to 1989) ignited another wave of marches and protests.

One of the largest and most memorable (for its uniqueness) was the Solidarity Day march. Do you remember that march? I do even though I was a teenager at the time! On September 19, 1981, more than 260,000 people marched in Washington DC in support of the air traffic controllers. President Reagan had just summarily fired 12,000 air traffic controllers who had gone on strike for better wages and safer working conditions (for instance, to limit their working hours). But the larger goal of the march was to protest Reagan’s budget cuts and tax policies. Labor unions—particularly the AFL-CIO—and civil rights organizations met at the Washington Monument to show solidarity against the president’s policies.

The next year, 1982, witnessed one of the biggest marches in US history against the building and proliferation of nuclear weapons. Held on June 12, 1982, more than a million people marched in New York City to protest President Reagan’s proposed budget that expanded the military budget to allow for the research and building of nuclear weapons—while cutting the budgets for health care and education. These marches remained peaceful—by both marchers and law enforcement—but tensions and passions ran very high during these events.

And who could ever forget the National March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian rights? Held on October 11, 1987—still during Reagan’s presidency—the “Great March” as it was dubbed was attended by 200,000 people—of all orientations—demanding federal money for AIDS research and treatment and an end to discrimination against homosexuals. This march was held during the “AIDS epidemic” which was disproportionately affecting the gay and lesbian communities but the federal government had not responded with federal funds or legislation to protect this segment of American society.

The next major march on this issue was the March on Washington for LGBT rights and LIBERATION. Held on April 25, 1993 (just 6 years after the previous march on Washington for Gay and Lesbian rights), an estimated million people marched to demand a civil rights bill against discrimination, to demand more funding for AIDS research and for reproductive rights.

Two years later, Washington DC experienced its next million-person march called the Million Man march. Held on October 16, 1995, more than a million people marched in Washington DC. This march had a different goal than the others—it was not primarily making demands on the government (for legislation for example) or telling the government to stop something (like the Vietnam War or funding nuclear weapons). The million-man march—more accurately could be called the million black man march. It focused on bringing solidarity and unity to the African American community. It was a serious march and also a fun and festive black family day of picnics, music and fun.

The new millennium witnessed a new kind of marching. Single city marches expanded into multi-city, even multi-national marches--all coordinated on a single day or weekend. In other words: marching went global!

The invention of the Internet/World Wide Web and later social media helped to expand the reach and inclusion and coordination of marchers and protesters focused on a single goal.

One of the biggest of these modern marches was the march against the Iraq war. This march was held on February 15 and 16 in 2003 and occurred in cities across the United States (including New York, Seattle and Los Angeles). More than 10 million people attended. This march is known as the largest march in world history and it demanded that President Bush stop the invasion of Iraq.

Another large, multi-city march was held the following year on April 25, 2004 in cities across the United States. It was the march for women’s lives and was the largest pro-choice march ever held in the United States--attended by 1.5 million people both women AND men.

Wow, so the marches got larger but more focused. More diverse, inclusive and sophisticated. This is activism at its finest and these marches all made a difference. And the marchers made history.

While the early marches (like the Vietnam War marches) might seem like they were unsophisticated and simple, that is simply untrue. People were focused and passionate. They coordinated their efforts and took to the streets—sometimes facing the wrath of law enforcement. The people on that fateful bridge in Selma* had very little protection from law enforcement or recourse for the violence taken by the police or military. These marchers put their lives on the line. (And lest one thinks that this cannot happen today, just look at the DAPL marchers* in North Dakota, facing private military forces and being deprived of basic necessities in their protest march for clean water and respect for their sacred lands.)

Without the Internet and social media back in the 1960s, people relied on phones, meetings and word of mouth. I remember in college that I would see posters that advertised marches about issues like the environment, rights of minority groups and health care. Marching has definitely evolved over the decades (actually centuries!) but they continue to be an essential tool to let our government know what we think and to make demands for our rights.

And marching continues to bring us together as a people. Think of January 21, 2017. The Women’s march following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th U.S. president took place in numerous cities and countries (including my resident city of Brussels, Belgium). And it brought us all together to remember that we are “ONE” people and that we must support each other during bad times and good. It was one of the most unifying events that I have ever witnessed, seeing women AND men and everyone else standing together as one. It reminded of that saying, “A people united can never be defeated.”

I want to conclude this Wiki history podcast show by discussing one more march. It is a notable march though you probably won’t read about it in many history books. It is not notable because it involved thousands of people because it didn’t. It is not important because it involved multiple cities or countries. It isn’t notable because so many famous people participated in it. But it IS important and it IS notable. This march definitely made history.

This march involved one man with an important cause. His name was William Lewis Moore. Moore was a white man, a former graduate student at Johns Hopkins and postal worker who became an activist supporting rights for mentally ill persons and later supporting civil rights for African Americans. (In fact, he became a member of CORE—the Congress of Racial Equality). William Moore participated in a series of one-man marches in support of civil rights. On his first march he walked to Annapolis, Maryland, the state capital. On his second march he walked to the White House. His third march started in Chattanooga, Tennessee and was headed to the state capitol in Jackson, Mississippi. He was carrying a letter that he planned to hand-deliver to Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett urging racial equality and an end to segregation. During his march, he wore a sandwich board sign that said “Equal rights for all and Mississippi or bust!” Moore said: "I intend to walk right up to the governor's mansion in Mississippi and ring his doorbell. Then I'll hand him my letter."

*****

Unfortunately, on April 21, 1963, 70 miles into his march to Mississippi, Moore was found dead by the roadside, having been shot twice in the head at close range. No one was ever convicted of his murder. In his bag, he had the letter that he had planned to deliver. In part, it said, "the white man cannot be truly free himself until all men have their rights." He asked Governor Barnett to "Be gracious and give more than is immediately demanded of you...." Moore was 36 years old at the time of his murder. You can find additional information about William Moore, including pictures, on the Wiki History podcast page on Facebook.

This might be a downer to end with but I do want it to have an impact. This was a march by one brave man who stood for racial equality and wanted to take his views directly to the governor of Alabama. That took courage! He deserves to be remembered for his bravery and activism. That’s what rememberinghistory.com is all about!

So, that’s all for today’s podcast show. Marches are great! I hope that this trip down the memory lane of marches and marching has left you feeling as inspired as I am. From the biggest multi-city, multi-national marches to the 12-man march in Oakland and William Moore’s one-man march in Alabama, individuals can have an impact and make a difference. And marching is one way to make a difference AND make history.

In the next podcast show, you will learn HOW to march and the elements of an effective protest march. Learning history IS important but MAKING history is essential. And you’re gonna learn how to do JUST that in the next show. Remember to go to the Wiki History Podcast page for more information about great marches and great marchERS. And that for everyone who listens to these great and groundbreaking podcast show, rememberinghistory.com will make a contribution to the National Museum of African American History & Culture.

And let’s all remember the words of William Moore, "Be gracious and give more than is immediately demanded of you."

See you next time at rememberinghistory.com where we are remembering history AND we’re making it. Every day. Bye for now.