The idea for the event came from longtime labor activist A. Philip Randolph, then 74.

And an army of volunteers got to work.

In the end, it was the largest such demonstration that had ever been held.

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In July, Randolph, King and othercivil rights leadersformalized their plans for the march.

So, organizing this march was not very stressful.

From every city I visited, people came to the march.

march on washington in august nineteen sixty three showing marchers along the mall as seen from on the Lincoln memorial all along the reflecting pool and to the Washington monument

In college in Jackson, Mississippi, I volunteered as an SNCC field secretary.

Thats how I learned of the planned march.

Dorie and I had both been very close to Medgar Evers.

In a time when many public schools were racially segregated by law, marchers called on Congress to pass a bill that would ban the practice.

We decided to march in his honor.

But state-by-state activities were not resulting in national change.

When I was at Yale Law School, I heard from Bayard Rustin that there would be a march.

courtland cox is pictured in this close up photo

So, I went to New York City, to a brownstone where it was being organized.

There I worked the phones.

Calling organizations around the country to take a stab at get people to go.

eleanor holmes norton smiles at the camera in this close up photo

Id been fighting residential-housing segregation in the L.A. suburbs.

So, I went.

We contacted all the bus companies in the Northeast and Midwest, as well as the airlines.

hollywood celebrities pose on the steps before boarding an airplane for the march on washington in nineteen sixty three actors frank silvera james garner marlon brando steve cochran anthony franciosa rita moreno and harry belafonte

The railroads added special trains for us.

I recognized the similarities between antisemitism and the racism Blacks experienced.

Racism, I think, generates from fear; then fear begets resentment, and resentment begets oppression.

louis armmand looks at the camera in this close up photo

Still, as word spread about the upcoming event, Americans from all over the country pledged to march.

They didnt want me rocking the boat.

I was 20 years old and attending Howard University.

And you must remember that some considered the civil rights protests to be part of a radical movement.

Participating in a march could mean losing a job, housing or worse.

But I wanted to be part of something that could change America.

If it took numbers, I was going to be there.

And, of course, everybody he invited dropped everything and said, Absolutely.

We felt disillusioned by the lack of organization.

We wanted to organize a local rally the week before the march, to drum up interest.

But you had to go to the local precinct to get a parade permit.