The March on Washington: A symbol, if not a turning point

FOR THE past few weeks, people have been looking back over the 50 years since the great March on Washington and pondering how much or Little has been done to realize the vision set forth at the Lincoln Memorial that day by Martin Luther King Jr. Sometimes, though, it’s worth looking in the other direction from Aug. 28, 1963, to the half-century before it, which began with a signal event in the summer of 1913.
More than 50,000 old men who had once fought the war that ended slavery gathered at Gettysburg to commemorate some of the bloodiest days in U.S. history. The large majority were Union veterans, but a sizable contingent came from the former Confederate states. The men fraternized, commiserated and, in general, buried old grudges in a coming-together that was touching, but also deeply tragic. It was tragic because this and other events of reconciliation that marked the era showed that the cause of complete emancipation of black Americans was being abandoned — not just freedom from slavery but also the right to vote, to work and achieve to the best of one’s abilities, to prosper and be a full, respected member of society.

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