A. Philip Randolph and the March on Washington

The clue on the game show would say "He organized the March on Washington." All three of the contestants would be actively trying to buzz in. The one that buzzes first would probably say with certainty say, "Who was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?" The host would tell them they were incorrect. He would then tell them who really organized the March on Washington. As in what seems to be the norm, the organizer of this event is lost in mainstream history.

Sometimes when history is written, we tend to forget those who were the creators of the historical moment. One such person who deserves to be remembered is Asa Philip Randolph better known as A. Philip Randolph, because without him we would not have heard Dr. King's famous speech at the March on Washington. A. Philip Randolph is probably best known for organizing the first successful black trade union-The Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters. He was so much more.

You see the March on Washington was the brain child of A. Philip Randolph. Even though it happened in 1963, it was conceived in 1941. A. Philip Randolph threatened to March on Washington to protest discrimination in the defense industry and the federal bureaus. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an order that year that became the Fair Employment Act thereby eliminating the need for the March on Washington for this situation.

Since African Americans were serving in the military, A. Philip Randolph led a campaign that would give racial equality in the military in 1948. Again, he talked of Marching on Washington. This time President Harry S. Truman issued an executive order banning segregation in the armed forces again eliminating the need to March on Washington..

In the 1963, A. Philip Randolph got involved with what was billed as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, later shortened to the March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King was the final speaker. The march was organized to give Blacks civil and economic rights. This march has been credited with persuading President Lyndon Johnson into signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The March on Washington was planned some 20 plus years earlier by the son of a Methodist minister-Asa Philip Randolph better known as A. Philip Randolph. He deserves to be remembered.