Black Nouveau

(inspiring music) Freedom - 60 years ago this month, over 200,000 American citizens marched in Washington DC to demand the federal government do its part to guarantee every American access to freedom, equal opportunity, jobs, education, fair housing, and the right to vote.

It became a watershed moment in American history.

(upbeat music) Good evening, I'm Earl Arms.

The 1963 March on Washington paved the way for landmark legislation on voting rights, fair housing, and a number of other civil rights issues.

Now, six decades later, many of those freedoms are still under attack.

We'll spend much of our program exploring those issues.

But first, Alexandria Mack reminds us of the Black women activists behind the scenes that helped the march come to pass in their role in the fight for jobs and freedom.

- In great tribute to the role the Negro woman has played in the cause of freedom, equality, and human dignity, I now call on Miss Daisy Bates.

- [Christina] When we think of women being part of that, the March on Washington, the usual story is they were excluded and that's only partially true.

- That great champion of Negro rights and freedom, Miss Daisy Bates.

- [Alexandria] This is a moment of the March on Washington where A. Philip Randolph recognized Black women in the fight for jobs and freedom.

- They weren't formal speakers, they weren't part of the delegation to see the president, but that didn't mean that they didn't play important roles, often behind the scenes.

- Mr. Randolph, friends, the women of this country, Mr. Randolph, pledge to you, to Martin Luther King, Roy Wilkins, and all of you fighting for civil liberties that we will join hands with you as women of this country.

- [Alexandria] But this tribute wouldn't have happened without pushback from, you guessed it, Black women.

- We will kneel in, we'll sit in, until we can eat in any counter in the United States.

(crowd cheers) - Probably the most important woman is Anna Arnold Hedgeman and she's not well known, but she was a key person.

She was the only woman on the planning committee.

She had roots in the Black trade union movement.

She organized a meeting between A. Philip Randolph, who was the titular leader of the March on Washington, and Martin Luther King Jr., and by doing that, she brought the Southern Civil Rights Movement into the March on Washington.

And about a week before the march, she realized that there were no women on the formal program, no women speakers, and she pushed Randolph.

- [Alexandria] "In light of the role of Negro women in the struggle for freedom, and especially in the light of the extra burden they have carried because of castration of our Negro men in this culture, it is incredible that no woman should appear as a speaker at this historic March on Washington meeting at the Lincoln Memorial."

This moment is a microcosm of the presence of Black women, not only within the March, but the civil rights movement overall, where their impacts can be felt, but rarely as recognized as their male counterparts.

- Part of what's happening throughout both the South and the North is that kind of everyday activism that supports the event is being done and undertaken by women.

And they, I think, are troubled by a civil rights movement that is ignoring kind of like the everyday activism that it takes.

- A lot of current activists do draw on some of the activists, particularly the Black women, grassroots activists, many whose names we do not know.

- [Alexandria] Efforts from women like Gloria Richardson, an early innovator in community organization in Maryland, or Diane Nash, the zealous student leader behind the Nashville sit-ins, or Daisy Bates, the woman behind the Little Rock Nine.

- Ella Baker worked extensively within the labor organization movement in New York.

She was pivotal in working with younger African-American activists in order to organize SNCC.

And so she forms this sort of crucial vector between northern labor activism and southern civil rights activism.

- [Alexandria] And Dorothy Height, the longstanding president of the National Council for Negro Women, and the only woman to serve repeatedly alongside the big six on major civil rights projects.

(activists sing) - There are tensions within the civil right movement that are substantial around what is the best strategy for organization, what is the best set of political outcomes that we seek to achieve, and what do we have to sacrifice in order to achieve those outcomes?

So, I think the first thing that we have to do is why Black women get erased, it's, I think, strategic.

- [Alexandria] Many of these grassroots organizers questioning if marches and speeches could lead to long-lasting political and economic reform.

- You're training people on the ground to change the conditions on the ground.

A speech or an event is not going to be sustainable over time.

What we want, right, is that sort of hard political work.

And in many respects, when we think about the female civil rights movement, it was relational.

- I had to learn that hitting back with my fist, one individual was not enough.

It takes organization, it takes dedication.

- [Alexandria] Now, 60 years later, the women behind the march still inspiring the leaders of today.

- I think we've made some tremendous strides forward.

There are a lot of activists, for example, in the movement for Black Lives, right?

Many of them recognize people like Ella Baker and the importance of grassroots organizing, the importance of process.

People still don't know who Ella Baker is, or who Diane Nash is, Anna Arnold Hedgeman, Pauline Murray.

I think more and more Black history, Black women studies is making those struggles, those names more well known, more relevant.

And I think activists in particular are standing on their shoulders and understand that they are, and have taken some of those lessons to heart.

- [Alexandria] To learn more on these women and their impact beyond the March on Washington, head to our YouTube page or Milwaukeepbs.org.

(upbeat music) - Within a few years of the march, the federal government passed the Civil Rights Act, a Voting Rights Act, a Fair Employment Act, and a Fair Housing Act.

In his book, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, Dr. William P. Jones says, "Most people know about the I Have a Dream speech and little about the real purposes of the march."

Everett Marshburn spoke with him about it.

- Looking back 60 years later, I mean, there seemed to have been some movement in the '60s and even into the '70s towards achieving those goals.

But when you get to where we are today it's sort of like, what's going on?

What happened?

- (chuckles) Yeah, that's true.

The primary goal of the march was a federal law prohibiting employment discrimination.

And that was achieved in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

It was a tremendously powerful law.

It not just prohibited employment discrimination based on race or religion or national origin, but also based on sex or gender, and that had a tremendous impact on millions of Americans.

Shortly after the march, the minimum wage was increased significantly.

It was also extended to many workers, many public workers, healthcare workers who did not enjoy minimum wage protections gained them in the decade following the march.

So, there was really tremendous progress.

You're right though that we have stalled that progress and we've seen some of both the economic disparities and the racial disparities that were really at the center of the objectives of the march, again move back into our national reality.

- And in many instances, these things have been decided by our government that we thought was going to help us then.

I mean, a number of the recent Supreme Court decisions seem to be moving away from some of the decisions that were made in the '60s and '70s.

Is this a cyclical thing or what happened?

- Well, you know, I think that the people who organized the march, Dr. King, A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, who were the primary organizers and strategists of the march, they recognized that you can get a lot through, you know, public officials through the government, but the government needs to be constantly pushed and pressured to make real change.

One example of that is that early in 1963 President John F. Kennedy proposed a civil rights law, a federal civil rights law and it did much of what the march wanted.

It would've enforced voting rights, it would've desegregated public accommodations and schools, but it was very narrowly focused on issues that African Americans faced in the South.

In part that had to do with the political situation.

And Kennedy felt that he could do that without alienating northern liberals, who would object to things like prohibitions on housing discrimination, or prohibitions on employment discrimination.

And so, Kennedy did not support the federal anti-discrimination law for employment, what would become Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

But as a result of the march, the march really assembled a coalition of Black and white trade unionists, religious leaders behind that demand, the demand for a national law prohibiting employment discrimination.

And that really forced the hand, first of the Kennedy administration, and then after Kennedy's assassination, a few months after the march, the Johnson administration.

And so, I think we, you know, the lesson is that you can get a lot from public officials whose hearts are in the right place, but you can't get everything.

And some things require mass mobilization and pressure.

And I think that was what was seen with the march.

And I think we've seen a sort of a movement away from that.

I think we've started to rely more heavily on this idea that we get the right people elected and they're gonna do what we need to do.

- So, constant political pressure is one of the things that we need to do.

I mean, 10 years ago when we celebrated the 50th anniversary, we had an African-American president.

And does that make the difference?

- Well, that makes a big difference.

It's part of the difference.

But I think it is also, you know, 10 years ago when we celebrated the March on Washington it was actually conservatives who first turned out to sort of try to co-opt the legacy of the March on Washington and celebrate that.

There was people like Glen Beck, who held the 50th anniversary demonstration.

I think people sort of forgotten how important that legacy is for African Americans, for people on the left.

And so, I think it was sort of, you know, people sort of looked at it as a non-event.

I think we've seen, perhaps in the past 10 years, more of an actual embrace of that legacy.

We're seeing a demonstration on marking the 50th, or the 60th anniversary this year.

So, I think that there's more of attention to the importance of that history.

- What do we need to do to teach history better so that people remember what happened and that they remember it accurately?

- Well, I think we can start by teaching history and actually being honest about our history.

Which I think, you know, that is a tall order for a lotta people these days.

I think we need to, you know, I think the type of, you know, talking about history like you do on television in the sort of public sphere, I think there's a lot of demand for it and there's a lot of interest in it.

And so, I think that that's a part of it.

But I think it's also, you know, we need to be sure that people who teach history have the academic freedom to teach the truth, to teach what actually happened without fear for losing their jobs or for losing their reputation, in ways that I think is a really serious concern, particularly for like me who teach at the university in places like Florida, Texas.

And I think, everywhere there's sort of this chilling sense in the sense that we can't actually confront the actual history of this nation, right?

That that's somehow bad for our nation to be honest about what has happened here.

And I think that's a really dangerous idea and it's one that ultimately really undermines our democracy.

- Thank you very much Dr. Jones, appreciate it.

- Thank you for having me on.

I appreciate the conversation.

(upbeat music) - Labor unions played such an important role in the 1963 March on Washington for jobs and freedom.

Joining us now is Decorah Gordon, constituency board member of AFL/CIO Wisconsin.

And we also thought it would be good to hear from Black businesses as well, so, joining us also is Jona Moore, vice president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin.

Thank you both for joining us.

And Decorah, we'll start with you.

What did the March on Washington accomplish for your interest, the unions?

- Absolutely, so, back then A. Philip Randolph's purpose was for jobs and freedom.

And at that time for unions it was really to get us the fair jobs, fair wages and to make sure that segregation, things of that nature, did not play a role when it came to jobs and fairness in the workplace.

And so, as of right now being a union member, I have those things.

I have fair wages, I have an equal pay as my male counterparts, as well as segregation not being an issue in the workplace.

- Hmm.

Jona, the same question for you in businesses.

- For businesses, I think that it's all about opportunity and providing a space for businesses and business owners to be able to thrive in their own right.

And so, now being able to see entrepreneurs grow in this economic economy today and then being able to see them develop, unlike they were able to back then, it's a huge accomplishment to be able to see that happen.

- So, Jona, you represent business, Decorah, you represent unions and you're here together.

So, clearly you do not have to be adversaries.

So, just talk about exactly, you know, what similar interests that unions and businesses have.

Decorah, we'll start with you.

- Sure.

I would honestly say first and foremost, the concern with unions as well as small business is people.

We wanna make sure that people are getting their fair share.

We wanna make sure those that are working are safe.

We wanna make sure that when they are working that the business is actually being prosperous at the same time.

So, I would honestly say that there we have an equal ground when it comes to both labor as well as small business.

- Anything to add, Jona?

- And I would just say for businesses and labor, it's really about the the fairness and the equality of the two coming together.

And so, being able to see businesses as they're growing understand what it means to do the human resources side of things or the pay side of things, and make sure that that's equal across the board is something that we're still working towards today.

But it's definitely a step in the right direction.

- You're going into my next question, Jona, so, we'll go with you.

What are the issues that may still divide small businesses and unions, do you think?

- I think that one of the biggest things is the pay and the opportunities for funding.

So, when it comes to minority business owners versus their counterparts, it's a lot of issues when it comes to funding for grants and different loan opportunities.

The loan opportunities for minority business owners, this is quite a journey in having to figure out how to navigate through that, whether it's understanding what the credit is, versus what their financial situation looks like.

And those are always tough conversations to have.

And so, that's probably one of the biggest issues we're facing.

- Decorah, I wanna ask you about minimum wage.

It's still at 7.25.

What's been the challenge there?

Why is it so hard to get that raised?

- I think one of our greatest challenges honestly is that people are willing to work for less.

It's hard to apply pressure and be persistent and consistent when the people that are actually affected by these laws are willing to actually do the jobs.

Back then we would see people walk off their jobs and they would go on strike and they would do March on Washington and walk and bus and for miles to make sure that even the president of the United States made a change.

Now, people are willing to show up just to make sure that they make their ends meet.

- Jona, what's the landscape now for a Black business owner?

What do you see that like today?

- It's thriving, it's growing.

It's an exciting thing to see, to see entrepreneurs, so many minority entrepreneurs growing, especially on King Drive.

There are so many businesses that are being developed, so many brick and mortars that are opening up for minority business owners.

And to be able to see all of the growth within the businesses for entrepreneurs and see all of the amazing things that they're doing is awesome.

- What are those jobs looking like?

What's the industry looking like?

- So, there are a lot of entrepreneurs in the culinary field.

There's a lot of entrepreneurs in photography.

You have a lot of landscaping.

There's also baking, so many different things.

There's a lot of different entrepreneurial fields.

- And what are you seeing, Decorah?

- Well, as for the labor movement, as we see the country is kind of stormed right now with union activity, organizing activity.

And so, it's looking more non-traditional.

Before we had the manufacturing and that was just like a great thing, especially here in Wisconsin.

But as we're seeing manufacturing is closing and it's with things that are happening with corporations.

We're seeing again, more non-traditional things happening, such as the coffee shops, Starbucks, Colectivo, hospitals, and even hotels.

So, we are seeing more non-traditional things become big.

- All right, real quickly, we have less than a minute.

Are you optimistic about unions?

- Absolutely I am, there's always a way to grow and I do believe that we keep doing that with our solidarity.

- And Jona?

- Same.

I think that unions for businesses, we're on the right track for it, and I see the growth, yes.

- All right, Decorah, Jona, I thank you so much for joining us here on Black Nouveau.

- Absolutely welcome.

- Thank you.

(upbeat music) - The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a direct result of the march on Washington.

It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting.

Since its passage, African Americans have won elections in local, state, and federal governments across the nation, yet many civil rights activists feel that access to voting is still under attack.

Joining us is Congresswoman Gwendolyn Moore from Wisconsin's fourth Congressional District.

- Good to be here with you.

- Thanks for joining us.

So, why is voting under attack?

- Well, voting is under attack because it's always been under attack.

Voting is that agency that gives the people, you know, a voice in the body politic.

You know, we don't have enough time to go back, but I can just tell you that essentially African Americans did not have the right to vote until 1965, until the Voting Rights Act, even though the 13th Amendment, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, and the 15th Amendment to the Constitution were adopted, because there was Jim Crow laws.

As you mentioned in your opening all kinds of tests.

How many jelly beans are in the jar before you can vote?

Can you recite the Constitution backwards?

And just all the way to the Ku Klux Klan burning crosses in your yard if you tried to vote.

And so, while at the beginning of reconstruction, you know, after the 13th, 14th, the 15th Amendment, we saw huge numbers of Black people voting.

Black people going to Congress and state and local government, after the so-called redemption period the backlash against voting, we had Blacks essentially not being able to vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

- So, what's being done to combat this attack on voting?

- Well, the federal government, and we do have a couple pieces of legislation, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, of course, that we've been unable to move through Congress.

And we are fighting a notion of sort of the devolution of power where state and local governments, you know, conduct the elections.

And we see right here at home James, I mean, fights over whether or not we can use drop boxes, fight over whether or not someone who's disabled can have a relative return their absentee ballot, voter ID being imposed, of course, on a people who move more often and have less stability.

And so, therefore they may not have the right kinds of voter identification.

And so, what is being done is really everything from Eric Holder, former Attorney General of the United States, to officials on the local level trying to fight in courts lawsuits to preserve people's rights to vote.

- We have 10 Black legislators in state government, the most in state history.

Can you tell me what this means for Black Americans in Wisconsin?

- Legislators or Black people period in Wisconsin?

- Yeah.

- It means a great deal.

I am very happy about the fact, for example, that the top leadership in this city, we have an African-American mayor, we have an African-American county executive, it means a lot.

I was just recently in the state of Mississippi where people were complaining that they had not seen the impact of the tremendous resources that President Biden has put out through the IRA, through the American Rescue Plan, because governors in red states get the money and then they make the decision as to whether or not they're going to purify the water in Jackson, Mississippi, whether or not they're going to support a business development west of Interstate 55.

And so, it's extremely important to have Black elected officials at the highest levels of government, and if they're not the governor, be able to have a relationship with a government so that we truly do have trickle down of federal funds.

- I'm glad you mentioned that.

Do you think we, or African Americans have unrealistic expectations of Black politicians?

- Well, I think it's incumbent upon people to recognize the limitations of any elected official and understand their own agency as well.

You know, I know that as a member of Congress people will complain to me about their garbage not being picked up.

- Right.

- As I will complain if it's not picked up.

But I do think that it's incumbent upon people who have the power to make sure that they make liaison with all parts of government.

I'll tell you, as a member of the Tax Writing Committee, the Ways and Means Committee in Congress, I was very concerned about this once-in-a-generation investment through the Inflation Reduction Act, for example and that money not getting to people of color, not getting through to women.

So, what we did to try to get through and to satisfy my needs is to create a sweetener, extra points, extra money, extra possibilities of receiving monies if in fact you agreed to do training and apprenticeships with people who have been not included before.

And so, yeah, it's not enough for me to be a member of Congress, I gotta be able to relate to people at the state and city level to make sure that that money is making the impact that I want it to make.

- Well, thank you, Gwen.

We're gonna continue this conversation online at milwaukeepbs.org, join us there.

- As we close tonight, we hope we've shed some light on an important event that helped change the nation.

And as we move further away from the 1963 march, we cannot afford to let its purpose be forgotten.

Freedom, freedom, freedom We have freedom Freedom, freedom, freedom We have freedom Freedom, freedom, freedom