sure the world keeps streaming for better things. >> hallelujah. hallelujah. hallelujah. today i'm andrea mitchell live on the mall on this 50th anniversary. it's my honor and peripheral theocracy whir watching this commemoration of dr. martin luther king, jr.'s march for jobs and freedom here 50 years ago today. i'm here of course with "hardball" anchor and reporter today chris matthews. chris, we've been listening to the speeches and watching and thinking about what happened here 50 years ago. it resonates for you?

>> i have to tell you so far today the best part has been andrew young. andrew young is an older guy. like me, maybe. he brought some joy to the occasion today. i think -- what's remarkable about today, the "new york times" wrote the most extraordinary -- >> it was the best explanation of what the speech itself meant. she wrote about the fact that reverend king was son, the grandson and great-grandson of a baptist preacher. the i have a dream is in response from mahalia jackson. >> and all of that is a continuity going all the way back to the declaration of

independence through the proclamation proclam ation -- proclamation emancipation and the sweltering summer of discontent. the poetry of martin luther king. >> the speech started as prose and was an economic message, jobs. and then it moved to poetry with the church records, with the response, the song and refrain. >> one great thing, politics is not always written ahead of time. it's not scripted. there's moments when magical phenomenal things happen. there was a moderate president on civil rights jack kennedy who somehow in the crisis of alabama and birmingham in june of '63 that same year came out with the

most amazing commitment send civil rights is as ancient as the scriptures. the president is on our side. this guy here martin luther king was inspired by mahalia jackson, i'm going to give this magic. >> chris, you referenced the history, that on june 11th, vivian malone tried to enter the university of alabama, george wallace blocked her. and at jack kennedy's direction got her in and through the university of alabama. it was that night that medgar evers was killed. in the driveway of their home. after all the bomb threats and assassination threats against their family with their three children. hiding in a tub and running out

and seeing their father slain in the driveway. there was a lot of violence. ron mott is in the crowd. ron you've been talking to a lot of people out there. >> a much smaller crowd than was on the mall over the weekend for the big march on saturday. i would estimate between 15,000 and 20,000 is the number i'm seeing. you can see them extended on the other side of the reflecting pool and on the site we're on they go all the way down the end of the pool. much smaller crowd. no less enthusiastic than they were here on saturday. people made the journey from all over the country. younger folks with older folks. 50 years ago there were a lot more people, a quarter million people and the one thing that was interesting about the speech itself we know it as i have a dream but clarence b. jones who was the speech writer for dr.

king, who helped him write that speech did not include the i have a dream. it happened towards the end of the speech the great gospel sunger mahalia jackson shouted to dr. king to tell people about the speech. dr. king nods off camera and then delivers an ad lib speech. folks are very enthusiastic. they are glad to be a part it. even though the weather is not cooperating. >> the rains are coming, indeed. ron mott, thank you. "the washington post," as was recognized by the post itself this past weekend barely mentioned the reverend king speech because he was the last speaker. they had gone to to press and it was not really notable to a lot of reporters who were covering it here in washington, d.c.

you've been following this from our bureau in washington. all of these reflections of history come together. identify talked to jesse jackson today and he said this is the moment where president obama needs to do what lbj did and set out a legislative mandate for the dream and that voting rights is a constitutional amendment. that's the focus. that and on economic injustice and equality. >> i think it also puts a spotlight on the relationship between presidents like kennedy or president obama and a leader like martin luther king. let's go back to reality. in the sprachk 1963 president kennedy did not want this march to happen. he thought it would get out of control. he thought it might have speakers like john lewis who would go in directions more radical. he kept his detains. they made arrangements so if someone got too radical in one

of the speeches they would play a recording of mahalia jackson sayinging "he inin inin ining - the whole world in his hands." at the end of the day he said i wish the lives. presidents can only do so much. oftentimes it takes a demonstration like this or perhaps demonstrations like the agreement riders of birmingham to push a president to do the things he should. >> john lewis has told me how president kennedy was so concerned about his security and how the white house did not want this to happen that it was only afterwards that he invited them to the oval office, all the leaders and welcomed them in and said he had been watching and

that he was proud of them and proud of what they had achieved. that was the first acknowledgment by the white house. it was a peaceful march by people who had been the victims of violence not the perpetrators of violence. >> that's exactly right. lbj understood this better. in the spring of 1965 he was hesitating before saengd voting rights to congress. then came sell marks john lewis heroism. johnson knew that would provide a huge gust of wind behind his effort to get voter rights for all americans. >> we'll be back in a few moments with the attorney general from the state of california, pamela harris and

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and we're back on the mall, course. leann rimes singing "amazing grace." i'm joined now with the attorney general of california. pamela, you are one of the legal officers who is such an important part of completing the dream. >> that's right. >> talked to jesse jackson

earlier about all the voter suppression efforts, and what's happened since the supreme court decision on the voting rights act. what can to be done from your perspective, obviously, california has a majority of official, governor brown, but you see what's happening in texas and north carolina. >> well, i'm just so excited to be here. i was not born 50 years ago. however my parents met when they were active in the civil rights movement. sofrg that was about the march 50 years ago, the dream, is -- i sat on the shoulders of all these folks. i would not be the first african-american woman attorney general in california if it were not for those fights. this is a vow we're making to our commitment to equal rights and civil right in our country. in terms of the civil rights act it was a great achievement. ruth bader ginsberg said it well

we need to understand maybe it's not raining at one particular moment doesn't mean we put our umbrella away. the civil rights amendment was to assure equal access to the polls. we know with texas and other places that access is questionable and that was the power of the voting rights act which was actually gutted by the supreme court decision and i applaud erick holder and the justice department doing the work they are doing to fight, to make sure that all americans have equal access to the polls. >> course the march was for jobs and freedom. >> that's right. >> we're seeing an appalling disparity with black unemployment. >> that's right. >> what can elected leaders such as yourself, what can democrats do to fight opposition in congress about closing that gap? >> there's no question, there's a huge disparity. one of the initiatives identify taken on in california is elementary school truancy. you might wonder what's the connect between that and jobs.

african-americans and latino ninth graders less than half will graduate high school. in this day and age in particular with technology being so prevalent one must have certain skills that you receive through a formal education to have a job and keep a job. so my focus has been on making sure these children who are predominantly poor or minority are a priority for us and particularly in the elementary school years. we can't afford to have up 240% of elementary school students be chronically truant. that's a focus for me. >> right now the head of the naacp is speaking. let's listen. >> somewhere along the way white sheets were traded for white but don't down shirts. attack dogs and water hoses were traded for tasers and widespread implementation of stop-and-frisk policies. nooses were traded for

handcuffs. somewhere along the way we gain new enemies, cynicism and complacency. murders from urban america to suburban america. the pursuit of power for power's sake. we stand here today to say it is time to wake up. so here in 2013 we stand before the statue of the great emancipator. we look towards the statue of the great liberator. we say we have come to wake up a new civil rights movement. for economic justice. a new civil rights movement for freedom in these days. a new civil rights movement for jobs. a new civil rights movement for men, for women, for children of all background, all races, all dispositions, all orientations, all cities, all counties, all

towns, all across america. america it is time to wake up. >> from the naacp, pamela, a new civil rights movement that's something that has to be started at the grassroots level as well. >> there's no question. i nene beauty and magnify sense of the civil rights movement 50 years ago was part of the coalition movement. he understood the issues that real estate late, women issues, gay rights issues, disparity on race, economic issues. bringing alligator of those folks together understanding that it is equally for each about a fight for civil rights and equality. coalition building is one of the strongest and best ways to do that. recognizing that these issues are not unique to any one community. all americans care about this. this is really about being patriotic. being a civil rights fighter is about being patriotic because it's about the ideals of our country as articulated in 1776. we should all be treated as

equals. >> one of the things that's very apparent when you look back and talking to others that despite the leadership are coretta scott king who took up the mantel and despite the work of others, women were not really included in those days among the leadership. it was a male leadership. >> i think women did not receive the acknowledgement. >> they did the work. >> by all of us. but they absolutely were there front and center and did the work and were part of the actual movement. so we have to distinguish who acknowledges. core letta scott king said that the fight for civil rights must be fought and won with each generation. that's what this is about. that was very wise. those are words of the leader.

don't be fatigued. that's the very nature of the fight for civil rights it must be fought and won with each generation. that's one example that came from a woman in whose words continue to ring. >> pamela harris now and future leader. thank you very much. attorney general of california. and speaking of women's leadership the head of the congressional black caucus is marcia fudge speaking right now. >> dr. king said that 1963 was not an end but a new beginning. let us make today the start of a new chapter in the history of this country. and let us march forward towards justice together. thank you. >> brothers and sisters -- >> we're here at the march on washington.

the 50th commemoration. we'll be back with more speakers, more interviews, more music right after these messages and of course coming up later the president of the united states.

>> my daughter who is 19 years old, look if you want to get inspired listen to this man speak. when i swat mr. bellafonte he asked my daughter how old are you?

my daughter said 19. i said, mr. bellafonte what were you doing at 19? >> i got back home from world war ii. when i got back to america i wasn't allowed to vote. so myself, al, jesse and martin, we marched. i said wait a minute, man. you sound like you're naming a boy band group. what do you mean? who are these guys names? he looked at my daughter and he said martin luther king have you heard of him. we sat there and cried what we need to do now is the young folks pick it up now so when we're 87 years old talking to the other young folks we can say it was me, will smith, jay-z, conyeah, alicia keerks the list goes on and on. don't make me start preaching up here. last but not least i have to

recognize more barry gordy. not only did harry bellafonte bailed martin luther king out of jail so he can march, he paid all of could lr coretta scott k. barry gordy put martin luther king's speech on a record and gave those reels and those tapes back to the king family. thank you so much, do not forget 50 years. i'm out. thank you. jamie foxx on the podium, speak about telling the history and passing it on from generation to generation. i'm here with chris matthews. that's what you do as an author, as an anchor. that's what you doverry day.

>> we look back at the moments of what happened 50 years ago. people like marlon brando, charleston heston, all the big stars, diane carroll were on the side together for civil rights. it's an impressive thing. his generation were activists. >> right now on the possible dim, our colleague, al sharpton. >> 50 years ago when they came to washington it was not for an event, it was in the middle of struggles. it was in the middle of battles to break down the walls of apartheid in america. dr. king, and those that fought with him, they fought and they beat jim crow. we come today to not only celebrate and commemorate, but we come as the children of dr. king. to say that we are going to face

jim crow's children. because jim crow had a son called james crow jr.'s esquire. he writes voting suppression laws and puts it in language that looks different but the results are the same. they come with laws that tell people to stand their ground. they come with laws to tell people to stop-and-frisk. but i come to tell you just like our mothers and fathers beat jim crow we will beat james crow jr. esquire. they call the generation of dr. king the messes generation and those out here now joshua. but if joshua does not fight the fight of moses they are not joshua. we saw dr. king and the dream

cross the red sea of apartheid and segregation. but we have to cross the jordan of unequal economic path. we have to cross the jordan of continued discrimination and massive incarceration. we've got keep on fighting and we got vindicate and stand up and substantiate that the dream was not for one generation, the dream goes on until the dream is achieved. lastly we made it this far not because of what we had in our pocket but what we had in our hearts. not because of what we owned but because of who owned us. we thank a mighty god for giving us a martin luther king. we thank the mighty god that brought us a long way. he brought us from disgrace to

amazing grace. he brought us from the butler to the president. he brought us from beulah to oprah. he brought us a mighty long way. we thank god for the dream. we'll keep on fighting until the dream is a reality. thank you and god bless. >> ladies and gentlemen please welcome randy jsh >> reverend sharpton as rain don't fall. chris matthews joining me as we don't watch the commemoration. we're going be hearing today, of course, is the president speaking later but also from presidents clinton and carter. you worked with jimmy carter as a speech writer at the white house. >> do remember when everyone else turned against him the black church was still with him. i a strong emotional attachment to one black church up in new jersey, northern new jersey, a woman sang "amazing grace" and

we were losing the election to president reagan. and the white middle class deserted carter for whatever reason maybe the hostage crisis and the blacks stuck with the democratic party. it was an emotional memory for me at the time. by the way one thing that came through i made a point on my show of not getting into the verdict or trial of zimmerman because that was up to the jury or up to the law but i do think what we all learned the difference and experience which led to a difference in per accepts. middle class and upper middle class african-americans have informed me very directly they have a totally different reaction to the experience of that case, from their own experience and i think that's something white people, i'm a white guy that doesn't know this stuff is that there's still the problem of getting a cab, getting a job, getting treated okay in a department store and it's shock when the president himself says i've been followed in a department store. >> that's when having an african-american president means when he walk into that briefing

room while i was on taxpayer and that was a turning point for many americans white and black to see the leader, the commander-in-chief, the chief executive expressing what african-american boys and men and mothers and sisters and spouse who worry about them have experienced for a millennium. >> the greet thing is to be in a room with somebody with a different experience. >> right now randy wieingarten s speaking now. >> we will act to keep the dream

alive. thank you. randi weingarten and now julian bond one of the original civil rights leaders. this is a special day and a special place for all of us. not only do we pay homage to those who gathered here 50 years ago to tell nation they too were americans we also celebrate the 150th anniversary of abraham lincoln's gettysburg address and the emancipation proclamation. this is personal for me. like chl you i was privileged to be here 50 years ago. and like many of you i am the grandson of a slave. my grandfather and his mother were property. like a horse or a chair. as a young girl she had been given away as a wedding present to a new bride and when that bride became pregnant her husband my great-grandmother's

owner and master exercised his right to take his wife's slave as his mistress. at age 15 barely able to read or write he hitched his tuition to a steer. he belonged to a transcendent generation of black americans, a generation born in slavery freed by the civil war. determined to make their way as free women and men. martin luther king betlongd a transcendent generation of americans. born in segregation. when my grandfather graduated the college asked him to deliver the commencement address. he said then, the person from his corner looks out on the corner of wickedness an sin and blind to all that is hopeful but wails the presents state of affairs and predicts woeful

things for the future. in every cloud he behooves a destructive storm. in every flash of lightning and omen of evil. but he forgets that the clouds electrocution bring life and hope. that the lightning purifies the atmosphere. we're still being tested from the elevation of stand your ground laws to the removal of voting rights act. today we commit ourselves as we did 50 years ago to greater victories. thank you. >> julian bond has just finished speaking. seeing julian bond and you earlier spoke of andy young and some of the others from that

generation makes us wonder is this next generation going to fully understand what they went through? >> well, you know, i have all these memories. i remember at north carolina, when i was in grad school i watched what i thought was the greatest shine history the democratic convention of '68. guess who was nominated as vice president. julian bond at 28 years old. he's constitutional ineligible. he looks like he did then. we have martin luther king iii here. harris walker from the civil rights movement. a white guy. a lot of people like john lewis speaking up here 50 years ago. the wonderful thing about a 50th anniversary there's still people alive who were there. that's why i think this is the big one. not the 40th or 60th the 50th. it's the last reunion, last chance to have contact, human

contact with the people that were major thinkers. i talked to a guy today who was a photographer that day, a young guy for the united press. s there's still that connection we won't have at the next big celebration. >> we'll be back with more of the music and celebration and memories as well as the former presidents of the united states, jimmy carter and then later this afternoon president of the united states, barack obama. you're watching the march on washington, this is andrea mitchell on the mall. dinner from walmart is less than $2.15 a serving. replacing one restaurant dinner a week saves your family of four over $1750 a year. save money. live better. walmart. see, i knew testosterone could affect sex drive, but not energy or even my mood.

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washington, d.c. congresswoman eleanor holmes norton was one of the original organizers of the march 50 years ago. she was a law student. part of that great history and she joins us today from capitol hill. congresswoman thanks so much. looking out today first of all your emotions and memories? >> well, i'm sitting looking up. 50 years ago i was on staff so i was looking downtown crowd. i think looking downtown crowd was far more extraordinary because it was the largest crowd of any kind that had ever come to washington for a single cause and i'm sure it was the largest crowd of black and white people who had come together to come to washington for a single cause. today i'm sitting up there with members of congress. i can look up at the speakers. but it seems to me to be worthy

on call when you consider the marchers are trying to do something that is, can not be redone. it can't be redone. you want to update the march 2013. >> congresswoman, i know when you were on the staff that you actually flew in from new york city. you closed down the office up in harlem and flew in that day and flying over washington was your first understanding that it really had worked, that all the organization of buses and trains and cars coming to washington had actually worked and that there was going to be this mass of people to be a symbolic message to the rest of the country. tell me about that. >> well, we had no precedent to draw on so any guess about how many people kwom i think somebody put out 100,000. i thought that might be

overblown. but when somebody said somebody has to stay in the office all night somebody will come and say can you get me on a because or a train to washington. i knew i could see at various sites whether people were coming. and take away some of my anxiety. i will tell you it truly did. i didn't see them all in one spot but i did see clumps of people that made me think somebody is coming to this march. of course, i made my way to the, to the lincoln memorial, so i didn't march with the marchers, i saw them coming in. looked like they would never stop coming in. and, in fact, as i stood there looking out i remember thinking, well where does it end? i could not see -- remember you can see from the memorial all

the way to the washington monument. they were beyond the washington monument. and so i corks i understood that whatever we were doing had been successful and the real challenge was would anything come of the march? we've done the march. now what would happen. >> congresswoman, also take us back to the atmosphere, coming from the white house, from the justice department, local law enforcement about concern that these marchers would somehow cause violence, i was watching the replay of "meet the press" from the sunday before which roy wilkens and dr. king being interviewed by a panel of white men. isn't this a big risk, what if violence comes out and until ply it is understanding from dr. king and roy wilkens perspective is we have been the ones visited upon by violence. let me interrupt all of this for

a moment because caroline kennedy is taking the podium. we want to hear what the daughter of jfk says as well as the nominated ambassador to the country of japan. >> 50 years ago my father watched from the white house as dr. king and thousands of others recommitted america to our highest ideals. over the preceding months president kennedy had put the full force of the federal government on the side of the movement, calling on all americans to recognize that we faced a moral crisis as old as the scriptures and as clear as the american constitution. his brothers, my uncle bobby and teddy, my aunt eunice continued his commitment, working to expand the promises made here to others suffering from discrimination and exclusion. a few months ago after the trayvon martin verdict was handed down and the supreme

court eviscerated the voting rights president obama did the same reminding us all despite our progress each generation must rededicate it self to the unfinished work of building a free and just america. 50 years ago our parents and grandparents marched for jobs and freedom. we have suffered and sacrificed too much to let their dream become a memory. the children in our failing schools are all of children. the victims of hate crimes and gun violence are our brothers and sisters. in the words of an old japanese proverb, the water flows on but the river remains. now it's our turn to live up to our parents' dream. to draw renewed strength from what happened here 50 years ago. and work together for a better world.

thank you. >> and caroline kennedy, course, a child when president ken dean his robert kennedy were greeting the civil rights workers after they came back. right now forest whittaker is at the podium. he plays the white house butler in lee daniels "the butler," an extraordinary film about a man who served eight presidents. >> at first glance may seem separate and exclusive. but we all share a common bond. your presence here today says you care. and want to bring more peace, love and harmony into the world. together we must embrace this moment. in my travels as a goodwill ambassador for peace both here and abroad i've observed revolutions and social change

firsthand. i've seen youth senselessly killed, people struggling for food, for decent homes, education and justice. and i'm often reminded of the marches and sit ins we experienced here during the '60s. i remember the words of dr. martin luther king which is i have decided to stick with love, hate is too great a burden to bear. we've all seen images from those days of the civil rights movement. pictures of segregated water fountain, public waiting rooms, movie theater, and in those amazing photos i've always been drawn to the men, women and children who were the heroes. many remain nameless but their heroic faces capture the portraits of the past to remind

us of their sacrifice. they risked their lives working tirelessly to bring about change. today i want to celebrate those nameless individuals as we reflect on the last 50 years. and in doing so i want you to recognize the hero that exist inside yourselves. to understand every step you take around an unknown corner marks your bravery. when we overcome life's hurdles, when we face and conquer our fears, when we help others become their better selves, we're committing small acts of heroism and if i were to take a picture of this crowd right now, people would see some of your faces in the moments that are starting today. this is your moment to join the

silent heroes of the past, individuals who stood in the very spot where you stand today. you now have the responsibility carry the torch as we gather here at the foot of lincoln memorial as hundreds of thousands did on this day 50 years ago. i remain encouraged and inspired. let's be the generation to make a true difference in the world. let's create meaningful change. change that we can all believe in and share in. my mother always told me, you don't have to believe in the things that i believe. but you have to believe in something. search, search to find the thing that you believe in, the thing you believe will help mankind and then act upon it, like so many of the silent heroes and heroines of the movement. all of us can shape our common

destiny. as the bell rings today my dream is that something will resonate inside you and me that will remind us each of our common bond. i would like to leave you with these words by dr. king. whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. i can never be what i ought to be until you are what you ought to be. may god bless you. may we remain connected in love. thank you. >> forest whittaker, the actor currently appearing in "the butler." eleanor holmes norton, in watching all of this as you.out it's very different than it was 50 years ago. there san important message to

try to continue the impetus behind action. jesse jackson told me he thinks the president has to lay out an actual plan for action on votin. >> it's really -- there's really such pressure on the president. here we have three presidents, an achievement of its own. caroline kennedy just spoke. before the march, her father and his administration were terrified. people like me, young people who had just come out of the south, were insulted. we had been the ones who had been peaceful. i didn't think it was anything to be afraid of us about. but the president, i think, president kennedy, became a believer after the march because he received the leaders of the march with great applause and shortly thereafter introduced the 1964 civil rights act. that shows you the kind of pressure that's on this

president. president kennedy was assassinated. of course, the mastermind of politics, lyndon johnson, in fact, the year after the march on washington, did get a civil rights act. that's exactly what we asked for. he got the first of the trilogy of civil rights acts. and he did it in a congress that was at least as difficult for civil rights as this congress has been for virtually everything. it was a congress of his own party, kennedy's own party, where every important committee was controlled by a southern democrat who would rather jump off the top of the monument than pass civil rights legislation, who famously filibustered legislation. but it got done. fast forward to this president where he faces a march far broader with any number of

demands, none of them centrally enunciated. even the march itself doesn't say what is its primary demand because you have at least ten you've heard. and if you were here on saturday, even many more. yesterday, he is the power. he's the source of power. so he can't come to us and say y'all got to keep on fighting, keep on marching. we've done that. we've got to tell the congress and the president what it is we think is most important to do, but i'm going to say that the challenge he had is much greater. he's got to get it done. >> eleanor holmes norton, one of the original organizers of the march 50 years ago. thanks so much. michael, you look back and seeing caroline kennedy and hearing from congresswoman

norton, you realize the history of all the presidents you have written about so extensively are all interwoven in the fabric of what we're seeing today. >> yeah, they sure are. i just love the juxtaposition of caroline kennedy and forrest whitaker. there was a wonderful man part of the white house staff, an african-american american. his title was not butler, but it was white house doorman. he was the one looking after jfk that day in the white house when kennedy was hearing these speeches through the window. so i asked him once, you know, what did the president say to you? he said, well, he told me, bruce, how i wish i was there out on the mall. but, you know, it shows you how difficult it is for presidents. the summer of 1963, kennedy had said he was going to send up the civil rights bill. what he was trying to do, though, was this. he was trying to make sure that americans who were either on the fence about civil rights or hostile would see it as not only a mainstream movement but as something that was absolutely

essential to avert a revolution if something was not done by the government. the second he realized that the march on washington was going to be is friend, he embraced it with both arms. >> and michael, that's a wonderful memory because we also see that the president ea's com this afternoon and now the vice president has just altered his schedule. he wasn't supposed to be here this afternoon, but now we hear that the vice president and dr. jill biden will both be coming to hear the president speak. so they are sort of calling an audible and joining this, which is obviously another historic moment. a shadow of what occurred 50 years, but still very much in the theme and memory of all that was set off with this march half a century ago. >> absolutely right. and, you know, also, 50 years ago most of the people were standing on that mall, i think, would not have imagined that we

would have a commemoration of it that was this important now 50 years later. >> and as we hear the wynans singing us off, practically, you're going to be here for all of it this afternoon. it already feels -- we can see people stretched to the monument. not shoulder to shoulder as much as it was 50 years ago, but we can see that all the way to the monument there are indeed people. >> there's a good crowd here, but not like it was. >> you can't duplicate that. >> no, it's hard to duplicate. reruns are hard to pull off. >> thank you, my friend. that does it for us for this very special edition of "andrea mitchell reports." "news nation" with tamron hall is next. we're expecting oprah winfrey to speak just after this break. stay with us. when we made our commitment to the gulf, bp had two big goals:

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hi, everyone. i'm tamron hall. the news nation is following the strong words and high emotions in our nation's capital on the 50th anniversary of dr. martin luther king jr.'s "i have a dream" speech. within the hour, president clinton and president carter will deliver remarks at the lincoln memorial, the sacred spot where dr. king addressed a crowd of over 250,000 people at the march on washington, marching for jobs and freedom. moments from now an american many say is the living testament to dr. king's dream, oprah winfrey, will address the crowd. earlier, speakers ranging from national urban league president to actor jamie foxx addressed

the crowd. >> i stand here today to call on this great and mighty nation to wake up, wake up to unfair legality parading as morality. wake up to insensitivity to the poor. >> everybody my age and all the entertainers, it's time for us to stand up now and renew this dream. that's what we got to do. >> we come today to not only celebrate and commemorate, but we come as the children of dr. king. >> we celebrate today that we have become a country that believes in equality, and we recommit ourselves to be a country that acts on that belief. >> and joining me now is washington post columnist eugene robins robinson, clip