Celebrities And The 1963 March On Washington

The Museum Of UnCut Funk is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.

After years of political inactivity because of the climate of fear during the McCarthy period, by the late 1950’s, Hollywood figures began to participate in the civil rights movement. A 1963 NAACP campaign to secure equal employment opportunities for Blacks in the film and television industries, and productions that included non-caricatured Black characters, prompted some celebrities to action. Involvement crystallized during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, as performers delivered speeches and sat together in a “celebrity delegation.”

The following pictures are from the March On Washington, August 1963.

Source: Library of Congress