A photograph in this case shows protesters gathered at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. More than 250,000 people gathered in the nation’s capital to protest racial inequality and listen to speeches by civil rights leaders, including John Lewis and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Nearly 60 years later, the struggle for racial equality continues.
This photograph is from the collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Smithsonian’s newest museum. Collecting images and objects like this that capture a moment in time are key to understanding and reflecting on our history.
To date, the Museum’s collection include more than 39,600 objects documenting African American history and culture, from the origins of the slave trade to Black Lives Matter protests today. Like other Smithsonian collections, the collections must continue to grow and evolve to reflect our nation’s continuing story.
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Washington, D.C. • USA (March on Washington 8-28-1963)
© Leonard Freed/Magnum
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture