September 16th: Today, we remembered the historic March on Washington with some very special guests. Our host John Quinlan was joined by three distinguished community leaders–all lifelong advocates for civil rights and social justice, and all present at the 1963 March on Washington–as they reflect back on that historic day and its resonance with today.
These guests were UMOJA publisher Milele Chikasa Anana, Wisconsin civil rights pioneer Vel Phillips, and social activist and physician Gene Farley.
Farley, Phillips, and Anana shared with us their feelings and reactions about having participated in the March on Washington. When asked to share her memories of arriving to Washington D.C., Anana said, “I was stunned. I had never seen that many people before. I had never seen that many buses lined up. Everywhere you looked you saw a bus…I really was in tears too, because I had never seen Washington D.C. And I felt like oh this is my country. This is where my government operates.”