We are writing to invite you, and members of our AFSCME family, to join us at an historical event on Saturday, August 26, 2023, in Washington, D.C. – The 60th Anniversary March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This event is sponsored by a coalition of civil rights and labor organizations, including the National Action Network, the Drum Major Institute, AFSCME and several other AFL-CIO affiliated unions.
Sixty years ago – in August 1963 – over 200,000 people gathered on the National Mall for the most storied civil rights demonstration in the nation’s history. The march on Washington was the brainchild of ASA Philip Randolph, president and founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and would not have been a rousing success without the involvement and leadership of others within the labor movement. Union members from across the county marched by the thousands as a rallying cry for greater economic justice, as well as racial justice.
The 60th Anniversary March on Washington is both a celebration of the historic gains we have made since 1963 and a recommitment to tackling the unfinished business of the struggle. It will be a mass mobilization for civil rights, voting rights and workers’ rights, as well as a call to action to defend our most fundamental rights and freedoms.
AFSCME affiliates in the mid-Atlantic region are encouraged to bring members and their families to the 60th Anniversary March and stand with labor, as we again take our place in history. Affiliates should RSVP for the March on Washington here. Additional information about the event and logistics will be provided once plans are finalized.
Please contact Nicole Pollard, Executive Assistant to the President, at npollard@afscme.org or 202-429-1124 if you have any questions.
In Solidarity,
Lee Saunders, President.
