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Leaders Who Attended the 1963 March on Washington Say Voting Was Also the 2020 March’s Focus

Published

5 years ago

September 4, 2020

Gay Plair Cobb and Gus Newport hold original 1963 March Commemorative “We Shall Overcome” poster in support of 2020 March. Photo by Auintard Henderson.

As the 2020 renewal of the 1963 March on Washington was taking place in the nation’s capital it was also observed in many communities around the country. Some of the original participants who live in Oakland are hopeful that the movement for voting rights is continuing.

Former Berkeley Mayor Gus Newport and former Oakland Private Industry Council Executive Director Gay Plair Cobb both attended the August 28, 1963, March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Newport had traveled all night on a bus from his native Rochester, N.Y., where he led the largest civil rights organization and Cobb, an organizer at Queens College, had taken a bus at dawn from New York City.

While on the steps of the African American Museum and Library in Oakland earlier this week they recalled how a wave of people from all over the country had traveled to Washington, D.C. 57 years ago to voice their support for more jobs and equality.

Both felt the accomplishments of the Civil Rights Movement—particularly the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965—has been profoundly undermined by the U.S. Supreme Court. They both said the U.S. Congress and the president should enact and sign legislation to restore the voting protections for minorities and vulnerable communities in some states.

They also said the overt racism expressed by Pres. Donald Trump and his administration have caused regression in race relations.

They marveled at the genius of leadership by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, A. Phillip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, Harry Belafonte, and Dorothy Height as they were able to bring the Congress of Racial Equality, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, Urban League, NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Council, Interdenominational Faith Leaders.

Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and many unions together to push for equality, fairness, and opportunity.

Cobb and Newport, both former elected officials, said they now are actively organizing and counseling with the next generation of activists and political leaders. “The struggle continues,” said Newport.

Now, young people across the country seek Newport’s counsel via zoom meetings. He reminds them that the tactic of marching in the 1960s was to achieve certain goals that the various organizations had determined before the marches took place. He counseled that, “Spontaneous marches also had their place, but failure to organize creates enemies because disruptors get the opportunity to cause harm to business owners who don’t deserve it.”

Nevertheless, the key, Cobb said, is voting. “We know some people have lost faith.”

She expressed the important historical context of the work done in the past would eventually lead to the election of the first Black president of the U.S. as being something worth remembering.

“The challenge is to honor that history, remember it, not dismiss it,” she said. “Learn from it.” Both hoped that the recent 57th anniversary March on Washington led by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and Martin Luther King III would inspire the communities of color to vote in larger numbers than ever before.

Sharpton announced the 2020 march with an altogether different rallying cry – police brutality – and yet voting became a common theme, just as it had been in 1963.

The now-iconic photos of that day in 1963 illustrate a time profoundly different as organizers cope with the reality of the pandemic. With African Americans and other minorities suffering disproportionately from the effects of the COVID-19 virus, both in numbers who contract disease and succumb to it, restrictions were optimally put in place to protect attendees. All who entered the designated areas of the rally were given masks and temperatures were taken.

The night before the march, the NAACP sponsored a ‘virtual’ March on Washington, which included speakers Stacey Abrams, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II.

The next day on the National Mall, speakers included Wanda Cooper-Jones, the mother of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man chased and shot to death while jogging in Glynn County, Georgia and Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, who died under the knee of a Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer. That choking death captured on video by a 17-year-old Black girl, sparked a global reaction and outcry for justice.

Floyd said, “I’m marching for George, for Breonna (Taylor), for Ahmaud, for Jacob, for Pamela Turner, for Michael Brown — Trayvon and anybody else who lost their lives.”

Jacob Blake Sr., the father of Jacob Blake, who was shot in the back by police in Kenosha, WI, spoke to the crowd as well. “Every Black person in the United States is gonna stand up. We’re tired!” he said. “And we’re not taking it anymore, I ask everyone to stand up. No justice, no peace!”

Letetra Wideman, Jacob Blake Jr.’s sister, said movingly “We will not be a footstool to oppression. Black America, I hold you accountable. You must stand. You must fight, but not with violence and chaos — with self-love.”

Martin Luther King Jr.’s granddaughter, Yolanda Renee King spoke as did her father, Martin Luther King III, who closed out the rally. “We’re marching to overcome what my father called the triple evils of poverty, racism, and violence,” he said, listing challenges that disproportionately affect Black and Latino communities, including the coronavirus pandemic, unemployment, police brutality and attacks on voting rights.”

CBS News sources contributed to this report.

Michelle Snider

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

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Remembering George Floyd

Published

5 days ago

May 25, 2025

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OP-ED: Oregon Bill Threatens the Future of Black Owned Newspapers and Community Journalism

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

Published

6 days ago

May 23, 2025

Oakland Post

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

For decades, The Skanner newspaper in Portland, the Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium have served Portland, Oregon’s Black community and others with a vital purpose: to inform, uplift and empower. But legislation now moving through the Oregon Legislature threatens these community news institutions—and others like them.

As President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), which represents more than 255 Black-owned media outlets across the United States—including historic publications like The Skanner, Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium—l believe that some Oregon lawmakers would do more harm than good for local journalism and community-owned publications they are hoping to protect.

Oregon Senate Bill 686 would require large digital platforms such as Google and Meta to pay for linking to news content. The goal is to bring desperately needed support to local newsrooms. However, the approach, while well-intentioned, puts smaller, community-based publications at a future severe financial risk.

We need to ask – will these payments paid by tech companies benefit the journalists and outlets that need them most? Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors, and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption, and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

Legislation that sends money to these national conglomerate owners—without the right safeguards to protect independent and community-based outlets—rewards the forces that caused this inequitable crisis in the first place. A just and inclusive policy must guarantee that support flows to the front lines of local journalism and not to the boardrooms of large national media corporations.

The Black Press exists to fill in the gaps left by larger newsrooms. Our reporters are trusted messengers. Our outlets serve as forums for civic engagement, accountability and cultural pride. We also increasingly rely on our digital platforms to reach our audiences, especially younger generations—where they are.

We are fervently asking Oregon lawmakers to take a step back and engage in meaningful dialogue with those most affected: community publishers, small and independent outlets and the readers we serve. The Skanner, The Portland Observer, and The Portland Medium do not have national corporate parents or large investors. And they, like many smaller, community-trusted outlets, rely on traffic from search engines and social media to boost advertising revenue, drive subscriptions, and raise awareness.

Let’s work together to build a better future for Black-owned newspapers and community journalism that is fair, local,l and representative of all Oregonians.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., President & CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

Oakland Post

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Hate and Chaos Rise in Trump’s America

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Tactics ranged from local policy manipulation to threats of violence. The SPLC documented bomb threats at 60 polling places in Georgia, traced to Russian email domains.

Published

7 days ago

May 23, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified 1,371 hate and antigovernment extremist groups operating across the United States in 2024. In its latest Year in Hate & Extremism report, the SPLC reveals how these groups are embedding themselves in politics and policymaking while targeting marginalized communities through intimidation, disinformation, and violence. “Extremists at all levels of government are using cruelty, chaos, and constant attacks on communities and our democracy to make us feel powerless,” said SPLC President Margaret Huang. The report outlines how hard-right groups aggressively targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives throughout 2024. Figures on the far right falsely framed DEI as a threat to white Americans, with some branding it a form of “white genocide.” After the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, a former Utah legislator blamed the incident on DEI, posting “DEI = DIE.”

Tactics ranged from local policy manipulation to threats of violence. The SPLC documented bomb threats at 60 polling places in Georgia, traced to Russian email domains. Similar threats hit Jewish institutions and Planet Fitness locations after far-right social media accounts attacked them for trans-inclusive policies. Telegram, which SPLC describes as a hub for hate groups, helped extremists cross-recruit between neo-Nazi, QAnon, and white nationalist spaces. The platform’s lax moderation allowed groups like the Terrorgram Collective—designated terrorists by the U.S. State Department—to thrive. Militia movements were also reorganized, with 50 groups documented in 2024. Many, calling themselves “minutemen,” trained in paramilitary tactics while lobbying local governments for official recognition. These groups shared personnel and ideology with white nationalist organizations.

The manosphere continued to radicalize boys and young men. The Fresh & Fit podcast, now listed as a hate group, promoted misogyny while mocking and attacking Black women. Manosphere influencers used social media algorithms to drive youth toward male-supremacy content. Turning Point USA played a key role in pushing white nationalist rhetoric into mainstream politics. Its leader Charlie Kirk claimed native-born Americans are being replaced by immigrants, while the group advised on Project 2025 and organized Trump campaign events. “We know that these groups build their power by threatening violence, capturing political parties and government, and infesting the mainstream discourse with conspiracy theories,” said Rachel Carroll Rivas, interim director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project. “By exposing the players, tactics, and code words of the hard right, we hope to dismantle their mythology and inspire people to fight back.”

Click here for the full report or visit http://www.splcenter.org/resources/guides/year-hate-extremism-2024.