Portside

Reader comments: Prisons; Labor Unions; Banning Russia from the Olympics - a Very Bad Idea; Remembering Viola Liuzzo; Bayard Rustin & '63 March on Washington; American Jews & Israeli Racism; Student Debt; Announcements: FREEDOM '63 REMIXED - Legacies of the March on Washington - Aug 16 -New York; The Forgotten History of the March on Washington, Aug 22 -Washington, DC - two events; Walmart Workers are Standing Up!; CCDS 7th Convention; Useful graphic on Climate Change

David McReynolds, co-worker with March on Washington organizer Bayard Rustin, in the War Resisters League, remembers the march, the country and Washington, D.C. in 1963. The slogan was "Jobs and Freedom." The link was very deliberate - for what was freedom without a job? He is also critical of Rustin's rightward turn after the march and his support of the war in Vietnam.

The name of the march on August 24th is the "National Action to Realize the Dream March". It is important that you use the name when speaking about the march so that people understand that this march is not just a commemoration, but a continuation of the efforts 50 years ago. Also bus information for New York City Left Labor Project bus to Washington.

Reader Comments- Wisconsin Crackdown; Labor Collective Bargaining; Detroit & Pensions; Early Human Settlements show War has Deep Evolutionary Roots; Honduras; Shorts: Child of Disappeared Political Prisoners Found in Argentina; Murder of Philippines Labor Leaders; Announcements - Call Mr. Robeson - Berkeley-Aug 11; Conference Honoring Jerry Tucker - St.Louis Oct 11-13; Organizing 2.0 Fall Internship - NYC Portside announcements about Quote & Toon of the Day, REWIND

Reader Comments - Songs of Immigration; Fruitvale Station; Blow the Whistle, Face Life in Jail; Bradley Manning; On Vultures and Red Wings: Billionaire Gets New Sports Arena in Bankrupt Detroit; U.S. Prison Population; North Carolina Worst Voter Suppression Law; Shorts - You Helped Cut the Pentagon Budget; Justice Department's Bold Voting Rights Move; Conference - The Global E. P. Thompson: Reflections on Making of the English Working Class after Fifty Years Oct. 3-5

Larger-than-expected crowds set to flock to Washington for 50th anniversary of King's 'I have a dream' speech in wake of recent court decisions that have fulled renewed debate on race

Reader's Comments - North Carolina and Voting Rights; Socialist Youth Reunion; Zimmerman Acquittal; Internet & Inequality; Farmworkers; Wall-Mart; Petition - Save Worker Education Program at Brooklyn College; Announcements - Forgotten History of Civil Rights: The March On Washington - Book Signing & Forum- NYC- Aug 1; Confronting the Climate Crisis- Bay Area- Aug 2; Legacies of the March on Washington- NYC- Aug 16; Jean Damu, R.I.P.; Margrit Pittman Memorial - Oct 6

If Richard Parrish had his way, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom would have occurred in 1941 rather than 1963. We need to remember and celebrate the militant legacy of Richard Parrish -- not just because he understood that trade unions could be powerful forces for progressive change, but also that he did not shy away from challenging them when they failed to live up to their potential.

Ginsburg attacks the ahistorical character of the majority decision. Quoting Shakespeare, she notes that the majority "ignores that `what's past is prologue'". What a profound observation, `the past is prologue'. It neatly, and with a literary flourish, sums up the deep defect with the Court's decision, its deliberate ignoring of both the contemporary ramifications of historical racism in this country as well as its current vitality.

The March on Washington grew out of a clear understanding of the problems facing African Americans, and presented a discrete list of demands, including a comprehensive and effective civil rights law that would guarantee access to public accommodations, "decent housing, adequate and integrated education, and the right to vote." Also a "massive federal program to train and place all unemployed workers - Negro and white - on meaningful and dignified jobs at decent wages"