A moment that impacted my life forever: MLK's March on Washington speech
I was there. It was the 1960s. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life. At the time I was a young Catholic priest passionately caught up in the historic changes taking place in the church and society.The civil rights movement was in full swing. Massive resistance to desegregating public restrooms, buses, restaurants and schools existed. The anti-Vietnam War movement was beginning to grow. Michael Harrington’s book “The Other America” was making us aware of the gaps between the rich and the poor. Cesar Chavez was challenging us in the Delano Grape Strike and boycott.The Youngbloods were singing, “Come on, people now / Smile on your brother / Everybody get together / Try to love one another right now.”
Yes, I was physically there. It was Aug. 28, 1963, the day of the famous March on Washington for jobs and to end discrimination against Black Americans. I arrived at the U.S. Capitol early in the morning. Busloads of people from churches of all denominations began to arrive from the Deep South, the Midwest and from all over the country.I was feeling some fear that there might be some violence with such a large crowd coming together. I was there with my friend, Rev. Peter Beaman. We were even more afraid that somehow, Cardinal McIntyre, our very conservative bishop from Los Angeles would find out we were there. He did not approve of his priests taking part in civil rights marches.I was scared when I felt a slight slap on my back, but I turned to realize it was Rabbi Henry Front. He and I had integrated the Protestant Ministerial Association in Redondo Beach. As religious activists, we had started a fair housing group when a Korean Presbyterian minister could not buy a house in Palos Verdes and Black people could not buy homes in the Don Wilson Track of the city of Torrance.Can you imagine? I am there with Martin Luther King leading the way. We were arm in arm in a march of 250,000 people of all races and colors. In our line, marching down Constitution Avenue was the famous Jackie Robinson who had broken the color line in Major League professional baseball. There were Protestant ministers, Jewish rabbis, Catholic nuns and priests singing, “We shall overcome.”
The weather was hot and the crowd marching from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial was orderly. We were Black and white, Christian and Jewish. On the route, I saw a Black woman sitting on the curb. She was crying. I asked her why she was crying. She responded that her tears were tears of joy as she remembered that her grandfather was a slave.I was there! I ended up 100 feet in front of the podium, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. In the heat of the afternoon, we heard many great speeches. What else could be said? Then Dr. King approached the podium. I was there! I heard words so powerful that they helped shape modern America’s public policy and historical course. It was electrifying. Eight times he said “I have a dream,” followed by a crescendo of loud applause. He had no notes and it seemed he was a prophet inspired by God as the Isaiah of today:
“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood…I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”It was one of those defining moments in my life. As a seminarian and priest, I developed a focus on the social justice message of the Gospel. After hearing Dr. King’s speech in person, my dedication to our country’s pledge of liberty and justice for all is even stronger.Charles Ara is a married Catholic priest and is based in Palm Desert. He and his wife, Shirley, have been married 53 years. He can be reached at cara@sprintmail.com
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: I was at MLK's famous March on Washington speech; it changed my life
