Opinion: 50 years later, civil rights struggle is far from over - CNN.com: On Wednesday, August 28, 1963, hundreds of thousands of Americans marched on the National Mall in support of civil rights. From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, asserting the paramount importance of civil rights for all.
The march forced the issue of civil rights onto the national agenda and into the lives of every American of every race. It was the culmination of years of tireless work and perseverance, all involving tremendous risk and quiet courage, much of it receiving little or no attention.
Wednesday, August 28, is the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. The march was one of the proudest days in our nation's history, a day when all Americans heard what it might sound like to "hear freedom ring." People gathered in excitement over the potential of major progress in the centuries-long struggle for American equality.
