More than a dream The radical march on Washington for jobs and freedom

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's iconic "I Have a Dream" speech was not delivered in a vacuum. It was the final speech of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Wednesday, August 28, 1963. The march--with 250,000 attendees--became the largest and most important nonviolent protest for civil rights in U.S. history. This splendid work of narrative nonfiction tells its compelling story, presented chronologically from inception to conclusion. The brainchild of Black labor leader A. Philip Randolph and his mentee Bayard Rustin, the event was not without controversy. Then--President Kennedy opposed it, concerned that it might compromise his pending Civil Rights Act. Also opposed were Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and the antediluvian J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, who attempted, unsuccessfully, to discredit the gay Rustin, a former Communist who had once been arrested on a morals charge. While Rustin and Randolph spearheaded the project, they were soon joined by 10 other civil rights leaders who offered advice and counsel. The authors have relied heavily on contemporary newspaper stories, a number of which are reproduced here along with a generous collection of black-and-white photos. Important appended material includes a collection of discussion questions and evidences the authors' deep research (18 pages of notes). This is, in short, an indispensable work that belongs in every library.

Williams and Long provide readers with a complex narrative of the 1963 March on Washington that goes beyond Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech. They begin with the 1962 meeting between Bayard Rustin and A. Philip Randolph, where the two decided the time had come for the march that Randolph had conceived more than twenty years earlier. By starting at this point, Williams and Long are able to highlight the many challenges (governmental resistance; disagreements among the organizers) and triumphs that took place before, during, and (briefly) after the march itself. Photos, newspaper clippings, and other primary-source images bring the history to life for young readers. Throughout the text, sidebars add important historical information and questions to consider. Back matter includes additional interesting facts ("Extra Steps"), discussion questions, extensive source notes, and an index (unseen); an opening note addresses word choice and the use of quotes containing racist language (including the n-word). Pair with Lewis and Aydin's March series (March: Book One, rev. 1/14; and sequels). Nicholl Denice MontgomeryNovember/December 2023 p.113 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A frank and perspicuous study of the watershed 1963 event in the Civil Rights Movement. Rather than build their thoroughly researched account around Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, Williams and Long focus on what went on behind the scenes to organize the one-day March on Washington, thrash out a unified vision of its purpose in the face of conflicting agendas, and bring it off without sparking violence from either marchers or police. (There were, astonishingly, no event-related arrests.) As in their powerful profile of Jackie Robinson (Call Him Jack, 2022), the authors unflinchingly retain the racist language in many of their period quotes to illuminate the violent temper of the times. They also offer eye-opening portrayals of the generally idolized Kennedy brothers and scorching views of the secondary roles Black women were forced to take by the march's male leaders. They brightly commend the courage and organizing skills of "gay, pacifist, socialist ex-convict" Bayard Rustin and highlight march director A. Philip Randolph's dreams of working change through collective action as well as the rousing speeches of young firebrand John Lewis and others. Numerous photos and news clippings add immediacy to events, and though the main story closes with the dispersal of the crowd at the historic day's end, rich troves of additional facts and questions posed to readers spur further research and reflection. Coherent, compellingly passionate, rich in sometimes-startling and consistently well-founded insights. (source notes, image credits, index) (Nonfiction. 12-15) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.