Several hours before thousands descended upon the National Mall to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, nearly a dozen civil rights figures and organizations received honors for their work in politics, business and civic engagement.
Even amid the celebration, many of those who converged on the ballroom of St. Luke Catholic Church in Southeast for the “60th Anniversary of the March on Washington Awards Dinner” couldn’t help but mention white conservatives’ ongoing efforts to erase Black history.
“Someone wants to take your history [away] and they’re not playing. We’re demonstrating in opposition and unity to show that we will fight back and God is with us,” said Sister Nia 2X, president of the National Action Network’s D.C. metropolitan region chapter.
Sister Nia 2X counted among a bevy of speakers who graced the podium during the awards banquet on the evening of Aug. 25. In her remarks, she encouraged attendees to participate in the 60th-anniversary march as a show of support for African-American communities where children’s education is currently under siege.
“They’re going after your children and grandchildren while we’re making excuses,” Sister Nia 2X said. “You don’t tell anything to our child, that’s our job,” she continued, speaking to the U.S. education establishment. “We need to guide our children into fearless men and women. I will say what I have to say to fight for the children nonviolently.”
Taking Our Children’s Education into Our Own Hands
In the aftermath of the George Floyd protests and President Joe Biden’s ascent to the White House, white parents and state-level officials have chipped away at education standards and curricula that mandate the study of African-American history, culture and literature.
Earlier in August, the Arkansas Department of Education dropped the Advanced Placement African American Studies course out of what Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee (R) described as concerns about leftist indoctrination of schoolchildren.
At least six Arkansas schools have since defied that order, offering local credit instead of state credit for completion of the course.
Earlier this year, the rollout of an Advanced Placement African American Studies course placed the College Board in a tug-of-war between Black scholars who said the course deemphasized Black Lives Matter, reparations and intersectionality, and the Florida Department of Education, which banned the course in its entirety from the state curriculum.
Months earlier, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) championed state curriculum updates that erased mention of chattel slavery, institutional racism and mention of prominent African-American figures. This followed the introduction and passage of laws in 23 states that limit the teaching of African-American history.
Throughout the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington awards dinner, event organizers stayed true to the theme of “Not a commemoration, a continuation,” primarily by honoring those who had either been involved in the 1963 march or are continuing the legacy of civil rights organizing.
Awardees included: Ben’s Chili Bowl co-founder Virginia Ali; former D.C. Council member and executive director of the African-American Civil War Museum Frank Smith; activist and Ward 5 politico Jeannette Mobley; 50-year union organizer Roscoe Grant Jr.; Prince George’s County Southern Christian Leadership Conference president Josephine Manning; national civil rights activist John Barnett; Bishop Joel Peebles of City of Praise Family Ministries in Landover, Maryland; March on Washington organizer the Rev. Walter Fauntroy; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity; the Rev. Andrew Young, former United Nations ambassador and former Atlanta mayor; and the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Actor Lamman Rucker, along with his mother, internationally renowned dancing diplomat and actress-dancer-singer-choreographer-spoken word artist-teacher Nana Malaya Rucker-Oparabea, served as masters of ceremonies on Aug. 25.
In reflecting on the significance of the occasion, Rucker looked back on his childhood experience of reciting the “I Have a Dream” speech that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave in 1963 at the March on Washington.
Rucker said King’s legacy permeates throughout the current fight for actor pay parity in Hollywood and various campaigns he has joined in recent years to help Black men heal from trauma.
As it relates to the ongoing assault on Black history, Rucker said that it’s incumbent upon Black people to immerse their children in history and culture from a young age, and at every turn. He told The Informer that it shouldn’t be left up to the school system to teach Black youth about Black history figures, known and unknown.
“We have to make sure our children get all the information,” Rucker said. “We have to insist they read the books that are being banned. We have to know our truth and speak our truth to be responsible to ourselves. It takes a support system to make sure our children get what they need.”
An Intergenerational Exchange of Information
This upcoming school year, longtime educator Emma P. Ward will return to Dunbar High School in Northwest as a part-time teacher. She credits her dedication to teaching youth, in part, to her participation in the March on Washington in 1963.
On August 28, 1963, Ward took off from her entry-level federal government job to stand among the several thousands who flooded the National Mall to hear Dr. King and others speak. At that time, she had been out of high school for a couple of years and was dissatisfied with her career trajectory.
However, as Ward recalled to The Informer, the energy around the march inspired her to eventually pursue higher education.
By the early 1970s, Ward, then 26, had enrolled in what was then called Federal City College. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree, she went on to get her master’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. Since then, Ward has dedicated herself to teaching young people in D.C. and around the world about Black history. She has done so in K-12 spaces and with adult learners.
Ward, Ms. Senior D.C. 2011, counted among those who went to the awards ceremony on Friday evening and 60th-anniversary commemoration activities on Saturday. In years past, she has attended 25th- and 50th-anniversary celebrations of the March on Washington.
“I want our children to know how blessed we are to have an advocate with a vision in 1963, we are still talking about his message,” said Ward, 79, as she spoke about Dr. King. “I’m not sure if our children can have the emotional attachment [to King that we have] but they can look at what he did for us.”
Karen Cornish-Adebiyi and Sharon Cornish-Scott chaired the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington Awards Dinner, out of regard for, as they said in a statement, for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was passed shortly after the March on Washington and in their birth year.
On Friday evening, guests at the ballroom in St. Luke Catholic Church took part in a silent auction, watched a recorded greeting from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), and listened to musical presentations from Bliss the Violinist and saxophonist Brian Lenair.
The Rev. Dr. E. Gail Anderson-Holness, the Rev. Dr. Berkley Dickerson of Rhema Apostolic Ministries and the Rev. Dr. George E. Holmes led guests in prayer throughout different times in the program while the Rev. Thomas L. Bowen, director of the Mayor’s Office of Religious Affairs provided opening remarks.
One musical act that blew the audience away was Ayla Dennis, a singer with aspirations of attending a music/arts college and sharpening her songwriting skills. Ayla’s renditions of “Rise Up” by Andra Day and “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke brought people to their feet.
It even compelled some adults to inquire further about her skills and future plans.
As Ayla enters her senior year of high school, she expressed a desire to focus on her studies and advance her goals. She said that in these days and times, young people should dig deep inside themselves to find their purpose so that they’re not easily swayed by negativity.
“It’s important for us to know where we come from and how Dr. King and others fought for us to come so far,” said Ayla, a 17-year-old who lives in Easton, Maryland.
“It’s important for young people to be themselves,” the teen added. “A lot of young people are easily influenced. The violence needs to stop.”
Congratulations to everyone engaged in this event. An excellent tribute to you all.