'I have a dream' looking back at the March on Washington
Hundreds of thousands of civil rights supporters gathered August 28, 1963 around the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his now-iconic "I have a dream" speech on that day.
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

WASHINGTON - AUGUST 28, 1963: (FILE PHOTO) Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the crowd during the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial August 28, 1963 in Washington, DC. People will gather at the Lincoln Memorial this weekend to commemorate the 40th anniversary of King's "I have a dream" speech and the March on Washington to support the law guaranteeing every American equal civil rights. Some 250,000 people, one-fifth white, attended the speech August 28, 1963 at the LincolnMemorial in Washington, DC. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

** ADVANCE FOR SUNDAY, AUG. 24 **FILE** The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledges the crowd in front of the Lincoln Memorial for his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, gestures during his "I Have a Dream" speech as he addresses thousands of civil rights supporters gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C., Aug. 28, 1963. Actor-singer Sammy Davis Jr. can be seen at extreme right, bottom. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

This aerial view shows the March on Washington demonstrators gathering August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial. The photo was made about noon as singing, sign carrying demonstrators filed into the Memorial grounds from the Washington Monument area. (AP Photo/stf)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Crowds shown in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for civil rights, August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Large crowds gather at the Washington Monument and around the reflecting pool to demonstrate for the civil rights movement in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Large crowds gather at the Washington Monument to demonstrate for the civil rights movement in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Large crowds gather at the Washington Monument to demonstrate for the civil rights movement in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Large crowds gather at the Lincoln Memorial to demonstrate for the civil rights movement in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Large crowds gather at the Washington Monument to demonstrate for the civil rights movement in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Large crowds gather at the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial to demonstrate for the civil rights movement in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Large crowds showing support for civil rights movement march in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Large crowds gather near the Washington Monument to demonstrate for the civil rights movement in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Large crowds showing support for civil rights movement march in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Group which arrived at Washington's National Airport, Aug. 27, 1963, to participate in tomorrow's massive March On Washington civil rights demonstration at the nation's capital. From left: opera singer Marian Anderson; Roy Wilkins, executive secretary of the NAACP; actor Paul Newman; Rev. Robert Spike of the National Council of Churches in New York City; and actress Faye Emerson. (AP Photo/William J. Smith)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

A. Philip Randolph, right, director of the March on Washington slated for August 28, 1963, is shown with actress Joanne Woodward and her actor husband Paul Newman, at a benefit performance at Harlem's Apollo Theater in New York, August 24, 1963. Stars of the entertainment world presented a four hour post-midnight show which raised $30,000 for the Civil Rights March on the nation's capital. (AP Photo/stf
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Signs which civil rights demonstrators will carry in the March on Washington are stacked high in the area near the Washington Monument, on August 27, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Roosevelt Nesmith of Camden, N.J., talks to his three-year-old son, Roosevelt Noel, about the August 28 civil rights March on Washington, August 27, 1963. Between the father and son, and the Washington Monument, is a stack of signs which the marchers, estimated to be more than 100,000, will carry in the demonstration. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Motion Pictures Director Joseph Mankiewics, left, Actor Charlton Heston, center; and Author James Baldwin, after their arrival at National Airport in Washington, August 27, 1963. They will participate in the August 28 demonstration for greats civil rights for Negroes. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Steps leading to the Lincoln Memorial are packed with chairs for (August 28) March on Washington ceremonies. The stands are for photo and television coverage of the event. In background is the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument, August 27, 1963. In left foreground workmen move a piano into the Memorial for use with mass singing. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Leaders of the March on Washington shown with Senator Everett Dirksen, R-Ill., during a visit to the Capitol in Washington on August 28, 1963. From left: Whitney Young, National Urban League; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Roy Wilkins, rear, NAACP; Walter Reuther, United Auto Workers president; and John Lewis, Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

A National Guardsman, one of the special policemen posted to handle March on Washington crowds, stands by small refreshment stand on grounds between Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument as marchers wait in line for hot dogs and cool drinks in Washington, August 28, 1963. The stand was typical of mobile units that moved into the area in attempt to feed the crowds. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

This is a view of the March on Washington crowd made from behind the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, August 28, 1963. In the distance is the Washington Monument and the Reflecting Pool. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Army military policemen line up at Washington Monument grounds for duty during the March on Washington, August 28, 1963. In background are some of the early arrivals for the civil rights demonstration. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Three of the marchers in the civil rights parade through the streets of Washington sit and soak their feet in the reflecting pool as they rest and cool off while listening to speeches at rally in the Lincoln Memorial area in Washington, August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

A crowd gathers near the reflecting pooll in Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, to hear speakers in ceremonies following the March on Washington parade through the Capitol streets. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Three members of the Senate make up part of the audience at the Lincoln Memorial ceremonies of the civil rights March on Washington in Washington on August 28, 1963. The senators are, from left: Phillip Hart, D-Mich., Wayne Morse, D-Ore., and William Proxmire, D-Wis. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Sitting on his placard with his shoes off, a civil rights marcher cooling off his bare foot on the surface of the reflecting pool near the Lincoln memorial following the March on Washington, August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Constitution Avenue is filled with marchers, carrying placards, as civil rights demonstrators walked from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington, August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

This is a view looking down at civil rights marchers crowded around the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on Aug. 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

The top of the Washington Monument and part of a U.S. flag are reflected in the sunglasses of Austin Clinton Brown, 9, of Gainesville, Ga., as he poses at the Capitol where he joins others in the March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., third from left, marches in a line of men with arms linked during the March on Washington for civil rights on August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

The crowds seen at the march on Washington, D.C. in which Dr. Martin Luther King gave his eloquent "I have a dream..." speech to a million - thronged mall on August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

*** FILE *** Actor Marlon Brando, right, poses with his arm around James Baldwin, author and civil rights leader, in front of the Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington demonstration ceremonies which followed the mass parade. Posing with them are actors Charlton Heston, left, and Harry Belafonte. (AP Photo, FILE)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Crowds are shown in front of the Washington Monument during the March on Washington for civil rights, August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

With the U.S. Capitol in the background, passengers for charter busses walk along a service roadway of the Mall in Washington, August 28, 1963, to find their transportation home after a civil rights demonstration estimated by police at more than 200,000 people. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

An aerial view from a helicopter shows the March on Washington at Lincoln Memorial in D.C. on Aug. 28, 1963. Over 250,000 people fighting for pending civil rights laws, such as desegregation, gathered at the Lincoln Memorial after a sign-carrying parade from the Washington Monument grounds. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

This general view shows civil rights demonstrators gathered at the Washington Monument grounds before noon on Aug. 28, 1963. The marchers will parade to the Lincoln Memorial, seen in the far background at right, where the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom will end with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, addresses marchers during his "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Aug. 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Workers at the Washington Monument headquarters of the March on Washington help each other pin on �usher� armbands, August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

A. Philip Randolph, one of the leaders of the March on Washington demonstration, stands on crowded platform on steps of Lincoln Memorial as he speaks to crowd following the parade which brought the civil rights demonstrators to the memorial area in Washington, August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Kathleen Johnson of Newark, N.J. gets help from unidentified members of the crowd assembled near the Lincoln Memorial as part of the March On Washington, Aug. 28, 1963. Mrs. Johnson fell into the reflecting pool near the memorial while trying to take a photograph of the area. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Stacks of signs asking for civil rights action now are placed under cover at the Washington Monument grounds in preparation for the March on Washington, Aug. 27, 1963, in Washington, D.C. At least 150,000 persons are expected to take part in the march. The people in this photo are unidentified. (AP Photo)
March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, 50th ann.

Discarded signs and other debris litter the ground between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, after civil rights marchers estimated at more than 200,000, left the area in Washington, August 28, 1963. (AP Photo)