Like a Mighty Stream: The March on Washington

On August 28, 1963, a quarter of a million people from all walks of life came together in Washington to demand justice in the struggle over civil rights. President Kennedy had just introduced his civil rights bills (signed into law by President Johnson in 1965), and the nation's most influential leaders had called for a rally to signal their support. Bass, the books editor at Essence and co-author of In Our Own Image, eschews dry, documented history in favor of interviewing people who participated in the event and writing from the heart. The result is a compelling, emotional narrative that brings to life the trials and tribulations of black Americans in the era, the struggles over organizing the march and its resounding success. Bass includes some discussion about the cancelled 1941 march on Washington, which President Roosevelt forestalled by issuing an executive order prohibiting discrimination in defense industries (Asa Randolph, who organized the 1941 event, was also instrumental in planning the 1963 march). Bass also brings to light some of the arguing behind the scenes, most importantly the disagreement over a speech planned by John Lewis, the chairman of the Southern NonViolent Coordinating Committee. And of course much coverage is given to Martin Luther King's brilliant address, which is printed in full in this slim book. Readers interested in the civil rights movement will find this an important overview of a critical event in America's often tortured history of race relations. (This was published in October of 2002 - but the 40th anniversary of the march is this year.)