March for Freedom Now Poster for June 14, 1963, Days After President Kennedy Addresses Civil Rights

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March for Freedom Now, handbill, June 14, 1963, Washington, D.C. 1 p., 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. "Mr. President-No Federal Funds for Apartheid States . We Can't Eat Jim Crow-We Demand Fair Job Rights for All."On Friday, June 14, 1963, the Washington chapters of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) led a "March for Freedom Now" which convened opposite the White House.Three days earlier, in a televised address, President John F. Kennedy responded to threats of violence and obstruction in desegregating the University of Alabama. He discussed how discrimination affected education, public safety, and international relations, arguing that the country could not preach freedom internationally while ignoring it domestically. Kennedy asked Congress to enact legislation protecting voting rights, legal standing, education opportunities, and access to public facilities for all Americans. Excerpt"I. Mr. President-No Federal Funds for Apartheid States"II. Don't Play Politics with Human Rights"III. D. C. Commissioners-'You See the Need-You Have the Power' Issue Fair Housing Ordinance-NOW!"IV. We Can't Eat Jim Crow-We Demand Fair Job Rights for All"V. Protect all Citizens Rights of Protest"VI. End Blatant Job Discrimination in the Justice Department"Historical BackgroundOn June 14, 1963, 2,000-3,000 demonstrators marched through Washington in a protest led by Julian Hobson of CORE, Rev. E. Franklin Jackson of the NAACP, and Rev. Walter Fauntroy of the SCLC. Beginning in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House, marchers rallied in front of the District Building, where Commissioner Walter N. Tobriner promised them that Washington would have a "fair housing law" by the end of the current session of Congress.Later, in front of the Justice Department, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy emphatically denied the charge (repeated in this flyer) that the Justice Department was guilty of "blatant job discrimination." He cited examples of African Americans now responsible for hiring marshals, attorneys, and others, though he concluded that the Administration "can do better and will do better" to break down racial barriers.The peaceful march came just two days after NAACP Mississippi field secretary Medgar Evers (1925-1963) was assassinated in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi. Some marchers in Washington wore black armbands to express their outrage at his assassination.Spread over four blocks, the marchers occasionally broke into choruses from the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Police kept a dozen counter-protestors from the American Nazi Party across Pennsylvania Avenue from the marchers.Six weeks later, on August 28, 1963, 200,000 to 300,000 protestors met in Washington, D.C., for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.Condition: Toning; very good. Rare: OCLC search locates only one copy. N° de ref. del artículo 28174

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