“I Have a Dream”: A 50th Year Testament to the March that Changed America

The Aftermath: 1963–April 4, 1968

The March on Washington of 1963 was followed by more years of racial strife. Yet a strong seed had been sown of affirmation, of hope, of belief in the democratic process, and of faith in the capacity of blacks and whites to work together for racial equality.

The Civil Rights Act

One momentous event that followed the march and benefited the civil rights movement was the Civil Rights Act that was enacted on July 2, 1964. It outlawed major forms of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national, and religious minorities, and women. The bill had been earlier called for by the now-late President John F. Kennedy in his June 11, 1963 civil rights speech but was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson, who had once opposed ...