Today we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. To many people, the march is synonymous with the Civil Rights Movement. And while the two do go hand in hand, most people are unaware that the march was originally called the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Another lesser-known fact is that that the marchers arrived at the National Mall with 10 demands. But the often-unacknowledged truth is that, even 50 years later and despite the success of the march, not all of its demands have been met.
The United States has not even come close to achieving some of the demands. For example, the protestors called for a national minimum wage of $2 an hour, as “anything less than [that] fails to [give all Americans a decent standard of living].” According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, $2 in 1963 had the same buying power as $15.27 today, more than twice the current minimum wage of $7.25.
Other demands, such as desegregation of all school districts, have been implemented by law—the government cannot technically segregate the school districts on the basis of race. However, geography can and does segregate people based on where they live. People live in places they can afford. But according to the Economic Policy Institute, 17.3 percent of black North Carolinians were unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2012. This is nearly three times the rate for whites at 6.7 percent. Minorities have a harder time obtaining any job, let alone upper-level positions, meaning they earn less money and live close to those with low incomes. Therefore, people remain segregated geographically, if not legally.
Eliminating racism is difficult. All people are supposed to be treated equally under the law, but court cases are decided by a jury of our peers. If our peers are racist, racism will persist. In the same way, racism will continue to exist as long as racists hold powerful positions.
To this end, North Carolina’s legislature has passed several regressive laws recently that will most likely affect minorities. This June, the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. Section 4 designated which states had to have their voting laws cleared by the federal government. Now that the General Assembly is no longer restrained by this requirement, they passed one of the most repressive voter ID laws in the country.
History professor Katherine Mellon Charron said the General Assembly’s Voter ID law “[goes after] students, the elderly, people in rural areas, the poor, and African-Americans and other people of color.” The law will undoubtedly lead to a decrease in voter turnout. In addition to requiring a government-issued ID, the new law also cuts the early voting window by a week and eliminates same-day registration.
The March on Washington’s requests were not satisfied just because the Civil Rights Act passed. It was one of the marchers’ many goals. The demands for voting rights, for an increased minimum wage, for desegregated schools and for jobs are still relevant today.
“You can’t say that things haven’t changed, because they have changed. However, the struggles for security, quality and justice have been rolled back in 2013 in North Carolina,” Charron said. The March on Washington was certainly not in vain, but its objectives remain incomplete.
