About This Episode
On August 28, 1963, 250,000 people of different races, religions, and economic backgrounds convened on the nation’s capital for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
The man behind organizing the event – Bayard Rustin – is profiled in a new Oscar-nominated film Rustin now streaming on Netflix. The film is produced by Higher Ground Media founded by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
In this episode, we speak with producers of the film, Tonia Davis and Bruce Cohen, and historian and Stanford University Martin Luther King, Jr. Centennial Professor Emeritus Dr. Clayborne Carson. Dr. Carson includes his personal story of attending the March on Washington.
View the transcript for this episode.
Related Material
- Read an oral history interview with Rustin on his reaction to Robert Kennedy's and Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassinations and violence in America
- Learn more about how the behind the scenes of planning the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
- Read about the public reaction to the March through letters sent to the Kennedy White House
- See how Rustin worked with the Department of Justice to plan the March in oral histories with John W. Douglas and John R. Reilly
- For teachers: teach your students about the the March's leaders and their backgrounds
- View the official trailer of the Netflix film Rustin
Episode cover images courtesy of Library of Congress and David Lee/Netflix