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Gabriella Neuerer
Professor Tyler
ENG 1201 Online
September 18, 2016
President Obama Marks the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington.
28 August 2013.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his I Have a Dream speech on August 28, 1963.
50 years later President Obama spoke to commemorate the day. He speaks of how the fight for
equality is a constant challenge, not only as an abstract, but the hard justice of minorities having
jobs and a livelihood. Right now our country may be struggling with that fight, but there is hope,
because if it could be done then, it can be done now.
The president began by speaking of the thousands of people who gathered at the Lincoln
Memorial in 1963 to fight for their freedom. These freedoms were promised hundreds of years
ago after the civil war, but never fulfilled. During this time, Dr. King was a beacon for the
movement. He was very vocal and an image for change. However, it was the many ordinary
people who fueled the movement. Normal people, whose lives were valued as less than a white
person, yet chose peaceful protest over the well-deserved hatred and anger. Those not giving up
on their mission and continuing to march are what brought about change. Their fight is what
brought positive change to all of those minorities in our country. Those marching got the Civil
Rights law passed, brought change to our city councils, state legislatures, Congress and in 2009
our White House changed when President Obama became president. We owe where we are today
to those thousands of people who did not give up until the changes were made.
President Obama then points out that our nation currently still faces many issues.
However, we cannot say we havent made progress. That would only demean all of the men and

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women who fought for basic rights, and won, in the 60s. To say that all is well though, that is
just as demeaning. We must continue to push forward with the battle for justice. This justice
means minorities not being swept into jails and having the opportunity for a real career that will
provide for them in all aspects of life.
Currently our country has not done a good job in this. Black unemployment is still much
higher than white unemployment. Even though so much of our society has changed, this issue of
racism remains the same. Part of the problem is how radical our politics have gotten. There are
those who see this racial injustice as a problem for the government to solve by just giving those
in poverty money. It is a small number who truly want that, but it is painted as the goal for all of
those wanting to escape discrimination. These radical politics have greatly slowed down our
countrys improvement. We cannot move forward when we are so bogged down by this side
against this side, and working so hard against one another.
What must actually happen is for the common people to come together and say what
needs to happen. What needs to happen is us banding together, and only then, equal opportunity
can be achieved. President Obama used the reoccurring phrase of individuals marching. This
does not mean literally marching, but the idea of moving forward, against racism. Such as
individuals who give opportunities to those who may not have many. Such as a teacher spending
her own money for childrens school supplies, hiring an ex-con, a mother giving all her love to
her daughter, a father raising his son right, and veterans tireless work, these are examples of
people marching. We can continue to march as a nation by doing things like this. Just as
segregation and even worse dangers were ended in the 60s, the discrimination against those
were are different, or a minority today can also be ended by not giving up our marching.

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Works Cited
Obama, Barack. The Fiftieth Anniversary of the March on Washington. Lincoln Memorial. 28
August 2013. Speech.