Remarks of Senator Edward M. Kennedy at the Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of March on Washington

REMARKS OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY AT THE CELEBRATION OF THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF MARCH ON WASHINGTON

It's a privilege to be here with Congressman John Lewis and all of you to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the March on Washington, the March that put our country back on the road to equal opportunity and equal justice for all.

Forty years ago, more than a quarter million Americans came to the nation's capital and appealed to the nation's conscience. Dr. King called it the "greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation." And John Lewis was part of that irresistible force that made the immovable object of bigotry move.

John Lewis is a true American hero. At the age of 23, he was the leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and an organizer of the March on Washington. By that time, he was already a veteran of the civil rights struggle. He had organized sit-ins at segregated lunch counters. He was beaten by mobs for his participation in the Freedom Rides that challenged segregation in bus terminals. He delivered a powerful keynote speech at the March on Washington that was
interrupted by thunderous applause several times.

John Lewis challenged all of us then - and he's kept on doing it. His election in 1981 to the Atlanta City Council and then to the House of Representatives in 1986 is a tribute to the success of his ongoing leadership in opening the doors of opportunity for African Americans in public and political life. As a member of Congress now, he challenges us every day to do more to dismantle the legacy of racial discrimination and segregation that still divides our country. We are all fortunate to serve with him in Congress.

The March on Washington was a gigantic catalyst for transforming this country. Two months before the day of the great March, President Kennedy had proposed a bill that would later become the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. As we all know, there was intense opposition in Congress to that legislation in those days. Without the March on Washington, the Act would almost certainly never have been adopted.

There was a powerful symbolism at work that day as well and it sent a powerful signal that touched all of America - North and South, East and West. Martin Luther King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, on the anniversary of the Emancipation proclamation. Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln. How could America say no?

Just hours after the March, civil rights leaders met with President Kennedy to discuss passage of the Civil Rights Act. Less than a year after the March, the Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Johnson, and it incorporated many of the measures that civil rights leaders including Dr. King had pushed for at the March and in the months after. It was the most extensive civil rights legislation in our American history, outlawing discrimination in public accommodations, in education, in voting, and in every federally funded program. It was a bright milestone on the long road of struggle and sacrifice that so many had traveled because they too had a dream.

In the years since that extraordinary March, our nation has moved closer and closer to meeting the ideal of equal opportunity for all. There have never been greater opportunities for minorities in workplaces, in schools and universities, in board rooms, in public life, and in every other aspect of our society.

But we all know that large challenges still lie ahead. Greater opportunities are not equal opportunities. The work of civil rights remains the unfinished business of America.

We can never repay the debt we owe to those who worked so long and hard, and well to change our society. Dr. King and many others gave their lives in the struggle for racial justice. The best homage to their legacy is to continue their important work. In celebrating this 40th anniversary of his great march, we rededicate ourselves to the great dream of Dr. King.