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5-27-2021
NAACP News, Estimated 100,000 Participate in NAACP's "Silent March," Washington D.C.
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This Text is brought to you for free and open access by the Benjamin Lawson Hooks Papers at University of Memphis Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Benjamin Lawson Hooks Papers documents by an authorized administrator of University of Memphis Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. NAACP NEWS 4805 Mt. Hope Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215 (301) 358-8900
BENJAMIN L. HOOKS JAMES D. WILLIAMS Executive Director Director/ Public Relations 69-105 6-29-69 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ESTIMATED 100,000 PARTICIPATE IN NAACP'S "SILENT MARCH"
WASHINGTON, D.C. To the slow cadence of muffled drums and
with somber faces, tens of thousands of persons dravn from every
part of the country and from virtually every racial , ethnic and
religious group, moved silently through the streets of the nation's
capital on Saturday, August 26th in the NAACP's "Silent March" to
protest a series of recent adverse civil rights rulings by the
Supreme Court and to call on Congress to take remedial legislative
action.
Veteran observers estimated that up to 100,000 people
participated in the march which took more than an hour to pass a
given point. When the earliest contingent of marchers reached the
west front of the Capitol , tse site of the concluding rally , they
could look down the vast expanse of open space before the imposing
edifice and see thousands of people still waiting at the foot of the
National Mall to begin the march of slightly over one mile .
The colors of the day were black and white, a link to an
earlier Silent March of the NAACP in 1917 when 10,000 men , women and
children marched in silence down New York's Fifth Ave. to protest
lynchings, discrimination, segregation and race riots.
Regarded as one of the most effective and historically
important of all demonstrations , the 1917 march served as the model
------., ...... -..-- ... _ - .... - ---.-·-··--....-~,,..- ... -- ...""' .--, - ...... ,...... -...... ,,..._-.._ .,.. ______,, - .... ___ .... ·• ...... _.,.._,..., .. ... -· -... - _,. .. · - - - ~ ..--- ... - 2 - for its 1989 counterpart, even to having the first line of march~r ~
-- the Ujammaa Actors from New York City -- dressed in clothing from the 1917 era.
The smoothness of the march, the vast number of people it attracted , and the tremendous support it enlisted from a broad spectrum of other groups, reflected the effectiveness of less than six weeks of preparation that began on July 13th when Dr. Benjamin
L. Hooks, Executive Director of the NAACP, made a surprise announcement at the Spingarn Awards Dinner that concluded the
Association's 1989 Annual Convention in Detroit , that a Silent March would take place in Washington, D.C.
The staging area was the National Mall in downtown Washington and early activity began to provide evidence of the scope and diversity the march would take on. The Mall quickly became a sea of marchers, assembling signs, banners, and greeting new arrivals.
Throughout the morning, a steady stream of marchers continued to make their way from subway stations after disembarking from buses at
R.F . K. Stadium in N.E. Washington. It is estimated that more than
700 buses with NAACP members , supporters, and allies from throughout the nation made the trip to Washington.
Pre-march planning had emphasized unity over numbers and over
300 organizations endorsed the march. But as the starting time approached, it became increasingly clear, numbers would indeed be a part of the story. The NAACP and its allies in the civil rights movement had turned out in force that went well beyond presenting a united front . It showed commitment, perserverance and a new - 3 -
reaolvs.
The march began at approximately 12 : 10 PM and was led by a
muffled drum corps , with other drummers interspersed throughout th~
line of march . The lead marchers carried a huge banner with the
march's theme, "No Retreat On Civil ~ights."
As the marchers mov~d out in total silence , along a route that
would take them past the Supreme Court for a brief prayer and to the
west side of the Capitol for a rally, it would be nearly two hours
before all of them arrived at the Capitol. Dr. Hooks insisted the
program not start until most had arrived and the route was shortened
to bring marchers directly to the west side of the Capitol as
freedom songs were being sung by those already assembled .
The prayer at the Supreme Court was given by Dr. Fred C.
Lofton, President, National Progressive Baptist Convention .
If the march itself sent a message of unity, resolve and
strength, a succession of speakers, including Lane Kirkland ,
President, AFL-CIO; Dorothy Height, President, Black Leadership
Forum; D. C. Congressman Walter Fauntroy; Dr . William F . Gibson,
Chairman , NAACP National Board of Directors; Joseph Rauh , Americans
for Democratic Action ; Irene Natividad, National Women's Political
Caucus, all pledged themselves to supporting the NAACP in standing
firm against any retreat on civil rights.
A litany prepared to outline the specific meaning , goals and
paying tribute to past civil rights heroes was led by
representatives of more than 50 other organizations endorsing the
march. Those assembled responded at designated passages.
------·------·-----·- --•r - -·----·-·- • -- - _ _,_ ..~ _.. _ ..,, __....., ._._._.r\ _._ _ ~--- · o --...-. " ...... 'T .., ,,,..., _ ~ ••· • - r~ - -· __,...... ,~. ~ - 4 -
If the message being sent was not clear , the speakers wh ~ followed the reading of the litany left no doubt as to the commitment of the NAACP , its members and allies to continue to prsaa the civil rights agenda in the face of decisons handed down by the
U.S. Supreme Court Dr . Hooks' described as "bizarre, beserk, and unusual."
Opening the program, Dr. Gibson told the multitude: "We march to tell that quintet of reactionary men and women who sit on that
Supreme Court that we are here. Five Supreme Court in-justices .
We're here; with all of the baggage of this country's legacy of slavery sergregation, discrimination and oppression. Whether your decisions and opinions acknowledge it or not, and we're here to stay."
Exhorting the crowd not to be weary, Rev. Joseph Lowery,
President, SCLC said "people of conscience are not willing to tolerate a systematic retreat . "
He called upon the "Congress and the Administration to rise above narrow pits of partisan politics in support of civil rights."
Rev. Jesse Jackson followed Rev. Lowery with a rousing speech which emphasized that African Americans , poor Americans and others have to exercise their political power to stem the tide of the current court.
"It was never about race," he said. "It's about workers, female heads of households , and Americans who can't afford or don't have health care," according to Mr . Jackson .
Borrowing the title of the recent motion picture of the same - 5 - name , Mr. Jackson called on the government and the American peopl~ to "Do The Right Thing . "
Dr . Hooks, yielded most of his time on the program in the interest of time. He said, "this march is the beginning of a renewed effort to protect and expand the basic rights of all
Americans, and ' we ain't going to let no court turn us around'."
In a rousing summary , he reminded the crowd that shots had been fired into the NAACP headquarters on July 19th, and a tear gas bomb sent through the mails to the Atlanta regional office on August
20th . In addition, threats had been made against the NAACP in many cities.
"But the NAACP is not afraid, will not be threatened, will not retreat, will not equivocate , and will be heard," he declared.
Invoking the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, he said :
"How long, not long.
"The mills of the gods grind slow but they grind exceedingly small.
"How long, not long.
"Behind a smiling providence Gods hides a smiling face.
"How long, not long.
"Truth crushed to earth ~hall surely rise again.
" How long, not long."
With a feverent benediction by Bishop J . Clinton Hoggard of the
AME Zion Church, the rally ended with the vast audience Joining in
"Lift Every Voice and Sing."
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