1963 - 2013

Thousands gathered today in Washington to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic 1963 Civil Rights March that culminated in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial.

An interesting footnote is that the Washington Post has put out an acknowledgement that "we blew it."   In reporting the 1963 event, they did not recognize the significance of King's speech, only mentioning "I have a dream" once in a wrap-up article on the rhetoric of the day's speeches.  In contrast, the New York Times led with it in its front page story.

In 1963 John Lewis was only 23, and today he is the only surviving speaker from that momentous day at the Lincoln Memorial.   In his speech today, he said that "The country is a different country, and we're better people."

He also proclaimed the necessity of continuing to 'stand up, speak out, get in the way, make some noise' in order to protect voting rights. 

In fact, the right of all to vote is being threatened today more than at any time since 1963.   Republicans, knowing they can't win on the issues, are resorting to lies, distortions, obstructionism, and changing voting laws to make it more difficult (and in some cases impossible) for millions of Americans to vote.

We can't let this happen.

Ralph