BILL NUMBER: HR 22	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member John A. Pérez

                        AUGUST 5, 2013

   Relative to the March on Washington 50th anniversary.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
             HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST



   WHEREAS, The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August
28, 1963, was one of the largest rallies for human rights in United
States history and called for civil and economic rights for African
Americans; and
   WHEREAS, The March on Washington included musical performances by
Marian Anderson, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Mahalia Jackson, and a
series of speeches by various civil rights leaders, including
Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish religious leaders, as well as John
Lewis and the only female speaker, Josephine Baker, who introduced
Rosa Parks during her remarks; and
   WHEREAS, At the March on Washington, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, delivered one
of the most famous speeches in American history, his "I Have a Dream"
speech, advocating racial harmony and social justice; and
   WHEREAS, The March on Washington was organized by a group of civil
rights, labor, and religious organizations, under the theme "jobs
and freedom," with an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people
participating; and
   WHEREAS, The 1963 March on Washington played an important part in
the rapidly expanding civil rights movement, and it also marked the
100th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by
President Abraham Lincoln; and
   WHEREAS, The March on Washington is widely credited with helping
to pave the way for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the
Voting Rights Act of 1965; and
   WHEREAS, The March on Washington was planned and initiated by A.
Philip Randolph, the President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car
Porters -- the first predominantly black labor union. He was also
President of the Negro American Labor Council and Vice President of
the AFL-CIO; and
   WHEREAS, In 1957, when schools in the South resisted school
integration following Brown v. Board of Education, Randolph organized
a Prayer Pilgrimage with Martin Luther King, Jr., and in 1958 and
1959, Randolph organized youth marches for integrated schools in
Washington, D.C.; and
   WHEREAS, Randolph inspired the "Freedom Budget," sometimes called
the "Randolph Freedom Budget," which aimed to deal with the economic
problems facing the African American community, particularly workers
and the unemployed; and
   WHEREAS, Bayard Rustin was the chief organizer of the March on
Washington and instrumental in organizing its logistics. He drafted
off-duty police officers to be marshals and bus captains to direct
traffic, and scheduled the podium speakers; and
   WHEREAS, Rustin was an American leader in social movements for
civil rights, nonviolence, and gay rights; and
   WHEREAS, Rustin became a leading strategist and activist in the
civil rights movement from 1955 to 1968, helping to organize the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference to strengthen Martin Luther
King, Jr.'s leadership and promote the philosophy and practice of
nonviolent resistance, which he had observed while working with
Gandhi's movement in India; and
   WHEREAS, Despite the shunning of Rustin by some civil rights
leaders, when the moment came for the unprecedented March on
Washington, Randolph pushed Rustin forward as the logical choice to
organize it; and
   WHEREAS, Commemorating the 1963 March on Washington affirms our
nation's and our state's commitment to achieving the social and
economic justice sought by the marchers and their vision of social
equality, opportunity, and racial harmony embodied in the Reverend
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s captivating "I Have A Dream" speech;
and
   WHEREAS, In his remarks, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
exhorted, "Let freedom ring" across the nation and concluded with,
"And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it
ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every
city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's
children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and
Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the
old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty,
we are free at last!' "; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That
Wednesday, August 28, 2013, be observed as the official memorial of
the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and
Freedom; and be it further
   Resolved, That the sacrifices made by the leaders and participants
of the March on Washington 50 years ago are recognized and honored
for their role in the advancement of civil rights and social justice
in the United States; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.