The March On Washington: Take One

"As the months passed and war became imminent, Blacks were forced to decide between patriotism amd expressing their continued anger by refusing to fight. Oddly enough, war offerred them one new oppoirtunity: employment. Still, Blacks looking tothe federalgovernment for sustenance found little. Despite valiant efforts by New York senator Robert Wagner, there was still no law prohibiting lynching. Anti-lynching bills invariably made it out of the House, only to be stmied in the Senate by powerful southerners. Fearing a southern blacklash, Roosevelt did not put the weight of his office behind the legislation. The president also disappointed many by refusing to sign legislation creating the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC).

A. Philip Randolph devised a plan to focus Washington's attention on the plight of American Blacks. Billed as the Negro-March-on-Washington, it showed the union leader at his greatest. Randolph and others, including [Adam Clayton] Powell, imagined that the march would finally prove to Washington that while the Black vote might be in contention, Black dignity and pride were not: Blacks would fight, but first they would demand equality when seeking employment. There were those who thought the Negro-March-on-Washington was ill-timed and dangerous; while Randolph took his cue from support he received around the country, from crowds that greeted him from Georgia to Michigan, Washington insiders were aghast at the idea. Mayor La Guardia, dispatched by the administration to plead with Randolph, warned that Blacks would be killed marching through the capital. Both Roosevelt and La Guardia were pushed into positions contradicting their liberal beliefs. Randolph persisted in his resoluteness, and in the end Roosevelt gave in, creating the FEPC and enabling Randolph to cancel the planned march." -From: "King Of The Cats: The Life and Times of Adam Clayton Powell Jr." By: Wil Haygood