Urban Unrest

17 April 2008 | Pacifica | Ernesto Aguilar

Rare Recordings Now Public – Almost Forgotten Heroic March on Washington, 40 Years Ago
7,000 followed Reverend Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson and others

The year was 1968, and on May 2nd through June 25th, the Poor People’s Campaign with thousands converged by mule train, bus, car, train and foot on to Washington, D.C. where they lived in temporary shelters on a 16-acre site named Resurrection City, U.S.A. African-American demonstrators from the South, Native Americans from reservations and whites from Appalachia were there to lobby Congress for economic justice for all poor people.

The Poor People’s Campaign was conceived by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1967. In May 1968, in the wake of Dr. King’s assassination on April 4th, the Reverend Ralph Abernathy led as many as 7000 people from nine caravans from all parts of the country. In these recordings, a young Jesse Jackson leads the demonstrators in the now-famous call-and-response, I Am Somebody — which he later performed with the children of Sesame Street. Although the community was strengthened, and the message was delivered, Washington remained entrenched, and on June 23, 1968, Resurrection City was closed. Now, Pacifica Radio Archives is making these authentic and unique recordings available to scholars, activists, artists, and non-profits for free.

“What is amazing about these recordings is that Pacifica reporters were everywhere, at the start of the caravans, on the road, and at Resurrection City, capturing speeches by the leaders and the experiences of the people who made great sacrifices to participate. The sounds and voices captured are inspiring accounts of a valiant effort to shame Congress to wage war on poverty.” Brian DeShazor, director, Pacifica Radio Archives.

“It is crucial to be aware of our recent History to have a context for what is going on today in this atmosphere of human rights travesties and the growing resistance to them in the U.S. and all over the world. The Pacifica Radio Archives has, in some instances, the only historical documentation of these struggles from the 1960’s. Key to their collection are the recordings of reporting from 1968 with the Viet Nam War, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations, and the explosions of protests on campuses around the world. Hearing these events enables a greater understanding of what is happening today.” Juan Gonzalez, columnist, investigative reporter, New York Daily News and Democracy Now!

“The voices of resistance are always under threat and challenge. Support for the [Pacifica Radio] Archives allows us to create an intellectual, political and moral legacy that challenges structural racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination and equality that actually reinforces the great traditions of democracy in this country.” Manning Marabel, Professor and Founding Director of the Institute for Research in African American Studies at Columbia University.

The Poor People’s March recordings are part of the Pacifica Radio Archives’ Revolution Rewind Collection of unique recordings from that explosive year. Made possible in part with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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