The Youth March for Integrated Schools in 1958 was the first of
two Youth Marches that rallied in
Washington, D.C. The second took place the following year. On October 25, 1958, approximately 10,000 young people, mostly of high school to college age, marched to the
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in the ...
to promote the desegregation of American public schools.
The event was organised by a committee led by
A. Philip Randolph
Asa Philip Randolph (April 15, 1889 – May 16, 1979) was an American labor unionist and civil rights activist. In 1925, he organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first successful African-American led labor union. In ...
, a prominent civil rights activist, who published a statement detailing the purposes and motives for the demonstration.
Randolph described the primary purpose as giving 'dramatization to the God-given right of every child, regardless of race or color, religion or national origin or ancestry, to receive an education in the public schools, free from the insult of segregation and
discrimination
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
.' He further requested that a delegation led by
Harry Belafonte, consisting of five white members and six black members of the Youth March, meet with
President Eisenhower to promote the desegregation of schools; however, this delegation was blocked.
Martin Luther King Jr. was expected to speak at the event, but was recuperating from a chest stabbing inflicted by
Izola Curry that left him severely wounded. Although unable to attend, King positively suggested that "such a project will do much to give courage, support and encouragement to our
eleagueredchildren and adults in the south. Simultaneously it will have a profound moral effect upon the nation and world opinion."
[Luther King Jr, Martin (2000). ''The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. Volume IV: Symbol of the Movement, January 1957-December 1958''. University of California College Press. Papers 4:484-495. {{ISBN, 978-0-520-22231-1.] At the event, King's wife
Coretta Scott King delivered a speech on his behalf.
See also
*
List of protest marches on Washington, D.C.
The following is a list of rallies and protest marches in Washington, D.C., which shows the variety of expression of notable political views. Events at the National Mall are located somewhere between the United States Capitol and the Lincoln Me ...
References
1958 in Washington, D.C.
October 1958 events in the United States
Civil rights movement
Civil rights protests in the United States
Martin Luther King Jr.
Protest marches in Washington, D.C.
1958 protests