US ambassador reflects on the March on Washington

Martin Luther King, Jr during the March on Washington. AFP/Getty Images
Martin Luther King, Jr during the March on Washington. AFP/Getty Images

EDITOR’S NOTE: Below is a reflection by Dr. Larry L. Palmer, Ed.D, U.S. Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington being observed today, August 28. The March on Washington, held in 1963, is said to be the largest political rally for human rights in United States history. During that rally Martin Luther King, Jr delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech advocating racial harmony, which would resonate around the world. 

Fifty years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., led the March on Washington, one of the largest political rallies for human rights in United States history. I was a child at the time, but I was struck by his vision of a world committed to equal opportunity and equal justice under law, and the eloquence of his delivery.  Many historians consider the march the catalyst for the passage of the U. S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The success of the march is rooted in the unprecedented coordination between and among civil rights groups, organized labor, and religious organizations who joined together to insist — even as they were confronted by violent resistance — that the universality of human rights be respected.

The Voice of America translated the event’s major speeches and rebroadcast them in 36 languages. The United States Information Agency organized a press conference for the benefit of international journalists, and created a documentary film of the event for distribution to U.S. embassies. Although the march took place in the United States, the message of universal human rights resonated globally.

As we mark the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, civil society, labor, human rights groups and religious organizations continue to work together to ensure the rights of children, women, LGBT, and those with disabilities.

The United States Mission to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean has worked with our partners in the eastern Caribbean to end gender-based violence and violence against children, promote tolerance of the LGBT community, and encourage greater inclusion of the disabled.

That support is a source of pride for me not only as the current U.S. Ambassador, but also the idealistic kid who 50 years ago was inspired by Dr. King’s dream of an America and a world that would fully embrace human rights.

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5 Comments

  1. Da
    August 29, 2013

    One of the reasons why Black Americans are still fighting for their rights unlike Black West Indians, is that when slavery was abolished in the west indies, the white men pretty much left, where as in America the white men remained there with all of the Gov’t power and hence continued to oppress the Blacks.
    WE were left to run our own affiars and have learnt from that.
    WE see our lands as ours unlike the Black Americans.

  2. Pondera
    August 29, 2013

    Have met Ambassador Palmer several times. He looks like Dwight Vennor, Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.

  3. August 28, 2013

    Hello Mr Palmer can you please tell me. Why would an African American born in America have to march for their right when their rights should be guaranteed by the US Constitution. The American government must learn to look in the mirrow before they criticize other countries. America has a long and trouble pass with their African American citizens who are still being denied their right to vote. Just look at what’s happening in North/South Carolina where they passing laws denying black people their right to vote.

  4. Pondera
    August 28, 2013

    I want us to note how diplomatic Ambassador Palmer was as he reflects on Washington Human Rights March which took place 50 years ago. Not a word on blacks and whites. Not a word on discrimination against blacks and other minority groups. Thank God, 50 years later we have Obama!

    • Dominican Man
      August 29, 2013

      Ambassador Palmer is a Very Black Man, just in case you did not know.

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