Which 1963 event saw more than 200,000 people gather in Washington, D.C., for jobs and freedom?

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was the 1963 event that brought more than 200,000 people to Washington, D.C., to demand civil and economic rights.

The demonstration took place on August 28, 1963, and was organized by a coalition of civil-rights, labor, and religious organizations. Its demands included meaningful civil-rights legislation, an end to school segregation, protection for voting rights, and a federal works program. Participants gathered peacefully near the Lincoln Memorial.

Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech during the event. Other speakers included John Lewis, who represented the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and labor leader A. Philip Randolph, an early architect of the march idea.

The march helped build public support for federal legislation that became the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is distinct from the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march and the later 1968 Poor People’s Campaign.