seemed to realize what otis redding is talking about, and what dr. king preached about, this moment has been a long time coming but a change has come. 50 years ago tonight, reporters filing stories on a demonstration in washington noted three things. it was peaceful, it was far larger than anyone expected. and a young preacher departed from his planned text. those unplanned sentences have never been forgotten. >> nbc news presents the march on washington.

>> i have a dream. >> 50 years later, the dream lives on. >> it was in the middle of battles to break down the walls of apartheid in america. >> martin luther king jr. made a speech, but he also delivered a sermon. >> my father watched from the white house as dr. king and thousands of others recommitted us to higher ideals. >> injustice is injustice everywhere. >> he gazed at the wall of segregation and saw that the power of love could bring it down. >> martin luther king jr. did not live and die to hear his heirs whine about political grid lock. >> the arc may have bent towards justice, but it doesn't bend on its own. >> for all who are willing to take the flame for justice, i know that flame remains. the tired teacher, the businessman, they are marching.

>> we knew fear. the sound of the bells today. let freedom ring everywhere we go. >> 50 years ago today, martin luther king jr. dared to publicly dream that one day in alabama, little black boys and little black girls would be able to go hand in hand together with little white boys and little white girls as brothers and sisters. but he did not dare to publicly dream that one day a little black boy would grow up to be the president of the united states. that was certainly implied in his dream of a nation living up to its creed, that all men are created equal. and today, america's first little black boy who grew up to

be president of the united states stood where dr. king stood and gave thanks to dr. king and everyone who joined him there 50 years ago. >> because they marched, the civil rights law was passed. because they marched, a voting rights law was signed. because they marched, doors of opportunity and education swung open so their daughters and sons could finally imagine a life for themselves beyond washing somebody's laundry or shining somebody else's shoes. because they marched, the city councils changed and state legislatures changed. and congress changed. and yes, eventually the white house changed. >> the organizers of the march on washington 50 years ago

called it "the march on washington for jobs and freedom." the president reminded us of that today. >> for the men and women who gathered 50 years ago, we're not there in search of some abstract idea. they were there seeking jobs as well as justice. not just the absence of oppression. but the presence of economic opportunity. for what does it profit a man, dr. king would ask, to sit at an integrated lunch counter if he can't afford the meal? and so as we mark this anniversary, we must remind ourselves that the measure of progress for those who marched 50 years ago was not merely how many blacks could join the ranks of millionaires. it was whether this country would admit all people who were

willing to work hard regardless of ranks into the middle class life. the test was not and never has been whether the doors of opportunity are cracked a bit wider for a few. it was whether our economic system provides a fair shot for the many. for the black custodian and the white steel worker. the immigrant dishwasher. and the native american veteran. to win that battle. to answer that call. this remains our great unfinished business. >> the president emphasized that there are many ways for americans to live dr. king's dream. many ways to keep on marching. >> america, i know the road will be long. but i know we can get there. yes, we will stumble. but i know we'll get back up.

that is how a movement happens. that is how history bends. that is how when somebody is faint of heart somebody else brings them along and says come on, we're marching. that tireless teacher, who gets to class early and stays late and dips into her own pocket to buy supplies because she believes every child is hers, she is marching. that successful businessman who doesn't have to but pays his workers a fair wage, and then offers a shot to a man, maybe an ex-con who is down on his luck. he is marching. the father who realizes the most important job he will ever have is raising his boy right, even if he didn't have a father. especially if he didn't have a father at home, he is marching. everyone who realizes what those glorious patriots knew on that day, that change does not come from washington.

but to washington. that change has always been built on our willingness, we, the people, to take on the mantle of citizenship. you are marching. and that is the lesson of our past. that is the promise of tomorrow. >> joining me now on this historic night, isabel wilkerson, and frederick harris, professor of political science and director of african american politics and society at columbus. and the author of "the price of ticket, barack obama and the rise and fall of politics." and eleanor norton, who was one of the organizers of the march. and she was there today. in the face of this collective wisdom on this subject i am going to bow in humility, and not presume anything. i would like to invite each of you to react to this day and to

this day 50 years ago, beginning with eleanor holmes norton, the only one who was present at both. >> 50 years ago, we were trying to make sure that the president of the united states was with us. he was our ally, but he discouraged the march. to be sure, he was so moved by the march, that afterwards he embraced the march and introduced a bill that would later become the 1964 civil rights act. now, here we have three presidents. that in itself speaks to the success of the march. but this was a terrible challenge to present to the three living presidents.

of the three, it seems to me that jimmy carter found his role and function, leaving aside the fact that he was the one that understood the irony of being in washington where the residents don't have the same rights as the people. what struck to me was that he spoke to us as a southerner who had seen the changes from his region and spoke from the heart. the president, on the other hand, i must say disappointed me because it seemed to me the moment called for him to be presidential. we were bringing truth to power. we were speaking to the three most powerful men or three of the most powerful men in our country. one of them was president of the united states. he gave a magnificent speech. but i would have preferred to have him say this time you have

got a president in the white house. i hear you. i accept the challenge that you have given to me. now help me to get the congress to accept the challenge. he wouldn't have had to say what the challenge was. but it would have been the presidential thing to do. instead, he echoed frankly some of the rhetoric, terrific rhetoric, no one does it better than he, that one would have expected of the participants in the march like john louis, who was on the student coordinating committee with me, and other speakers like bernice, of course, bernice king. >> isabel wilkerson, your feelings about it. >> i am surprised about the people who showed up and his reference to all the individual things people can do. i think it is almost impossible if you think about it, to in any way compete with the greatest speech ever given in the 20th century. and so i'm struck by not only the president's words, but also

the reiteration of the entire speech that martin luther king jr. gave originally that aired on msnbc multiple times today. i had never seen it before. and i was almost brought to tears by the magnitude of what martin luther king jr. said 50 years ago on this day. and by what that meant. and by all the pressures on him and on everyone else there. the fact that he had earlier in the year, 1963, been in jail in the birmingham jail. that he had written his magnificent letter from the birmingham jail in the newspaper. and that just a month or so before, medgar evers had been assassinated. and there was the bombing at the church where four little girls were killed. so i'm struck by the magnitude of the moment. the fact that he was speaking in 1963, a quarter of a million

people who had come to bear witness and to beseech their country to live up to its creed. and i was struck by the moment how he connected to his audience, and across the decades, by the importance of this message. by saying ultimately that the country needed to live up to its creed. he was speaking of humanity and of brotherhood and of love. and i think that is the mental -- message that endures to this day, that he spoke of. >> yes, lawrence, commemorations are always an opportunity for the nation to reflect back on our legacy, a legacy as a people. and surely, the 50th anniversary of the march on washington is that opportunity for us to reflect back and look at the progress that we've made.

and the president pretty much articulated that. but i was disappointed, as well, as the president not speaking more forcefully from the gut as he did in the aftermath of the zimmerman verdict. where he talked about the need to challenge the persistence of racial inequality. particularly around one of the particular issues of our generation, and that is mass incarceration. and so dr. king in that speech he gave in 1963 talked about the promissory note. and i want your viewers to reflect back a moment when barack obama was a candidate in 2007. he gave a bold proposal for criminal justice reform at a speech at howard university. this is what the president proposed.

he proposed a federal level racial profiling act. he promised if he would become president, loan forgiveness to law students who would become public defenders as a means to level the playing field for poor latinos and quite frankly, poor whites, who couldn't afford a defense in the criminal justice accept. he said he would do away with the death penalty. and limit the sentencing dispairties. so that is the promissory note that candidate obama in my view has not come through with. and so i was expecting more policy responses in this day where as the delegate, the d.c. delegate, mentioned that advocates of racial equality came and presented an agenda before the president, which manifested in the passage of the civil rights act. and so it is my hope that the momentum that we saw that came out of the zimmerman trial, the reaction, is not lost. and so in many ways, again, i

see partly disappointment in the president's speech. >> eleanor holmes norton, is it your sense that the president anticipated that it was some invisible line if he crossed it, he would have been accused of making the event political today. and in a way that could possibly not have had much effect anyway. because the things that we were just talking about there with professor harris would all be legislative issues that obviously the republican house of representatives that you serve in would not take any action on. >> lawrence, you have really

stated what i thought was his dilemma. he knew that it was not be a political speech. and while i agree with my friend here that there were more opportunities to say more about policy. he is not martin luther king jr., we don't regard it as a political speech because it was so full of poetry. and he was a master at it but i have to tell you, i don't think you can stand before the audience as the president of the united states and simply kind of echo the rhetoric of the day. you are the power, you are -- excuse me, you the man, as they say in the streets. you the man. we recognize that he cannot do it by himself. but it seems to me it would have been an act of taking on responsibility, to acknowledge that the challenge has been presented -- to all of us. and he named all of us who had responsibility. and to have said, and i accept

that the challenge has been presented to me. the president of the united states. and to the congress of the united states. would not have to spell out the policy. would not have been political. but it would have meant that i share responsibility with those of you who have come to the march. i did not hear that. >> eleanor holmes norton, isabel wilkerson, frederick harris, thank you all for joining me. >> coming up, eugene robinson has more on what was said on the steps today of the lincoln memorial. and more on the trajectory of the civil rights movement. and peter, paul and mary sang blowing in the wind on the mall 50 years ago. and peter and paul sang it there again today. paul will join me later.

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. president obama, president clinton, and president carter spoke today. and so did kid president, robbie novak. >> i was not here 50 years ago, but i hope to be in the next 50 years. we all have a duty to make sure the world keeps dreaming for better things. keep dreaming, keep dreaming, keep dreaming. >> up next, eugene robinson. . >> this march and that speech changed america. they opened minds. they melted hearts. and they moved millions. hero: if you had a chance to go anywhere in the world,

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>> this march and that speech changed america. they opened minds. they melted hearts. and they moved millions. including a 17-year-old boy watching alone in his home in arkansas. >> there was a three-president event today in washington, the current president, of course, and two former presidents. >> i believe we all know how dr. king would have reacted to the new id requirements to exclude certain voters, especially african americans. i think we all know how dr. king would have reacted to the supreme court striking down a crucial part of a voter's rights act just recently passed overwhelmingly by congress. i this think we all know how dr. king would have reacted to unemployment among african americans being almost twice the rate of white people. and for teenagers at 42%. i think we would all know how dr. king would have reacted to our country being awash in guns

and for more and more states passing "stand your ground" laws. >> joining me now, eugene robinson, "washington post" columnist. eugene, it seemed the performers felt a little loose up there and less restrained. >> we are looser, less restrained. i thought jimmy carter was full of fire and in some ways gave the most direct and powerful of the presidential speeches. he is not -- his oratory is not that of president obama, certainly, and i thought president obama actually gave a very good speech. but jimmy carter's was short, direct, punchy. and bill clinton, of course, was bill clinton. he made his voice do like this, the thing he does with his voice and scratched his head to the side.

he did all that clinton moves. but the line about how king wouldn't want his heirs to be whining about grid lock was one of the most memorable lines of the day. >> well, since you liked jimmy carter so much, let's listen more to jimmy carter. >> and i think we all know how dr. king would have reacted to have more than 835,000 african american men in prison. five times as many as when i left office. and with one third of all african american males being destined to being in prisons in their lifetimes. well, there is a tremendous agenda ahead of us. >> again, gene, he felt it was in his jurisdiction to go right at the tough issues. >> yes, he went right at them. it was an aggressive speech. and again, to the point, he doesn't have to worry about seeming political. he doesn't have the burdens that president obama had. how many burdens did obama have?

he is the president of the united states. the first black president. 50 years. all of this, with this weight on it. and plus he is supposed to react to you know, one of the greatest speeches of the century. >> i want to go to one of our favorites. both from today and from other things he has done in his life, bill russell. and let's listen to what he has to say today. >> lately, i have heard a lot about how far we've come in 50 years. but from my point of view, we learned about how far you have to go. >> that is a very dr. king like statement he said. >> i thought he was wise -- you know, i have always been a bill russell fan. you cannot say a bad word about bill russell in my house when i

was growing up. because my dad just loved him. the rest of the program, you know, the other highlights of the program to me, frankly as always, was the music. all the wynans who came out, and that was an important part of 1963, when mahalia jackson came out. >> we'll have today, peter, paul and mary were there. we're actually going to have paul join us later in the show. bill russell was invited to speak 50 years ago. and he chose not to, because he thought you know he didn't want as a sports star to in any way

distract attention from people who he thought had earned and deserved more people on that stage. that is the kind of spirit that i think is hard to find in the modern media age of people rushing to microphones. >> it is. it is hard to find. it is awfully hard to find. but you know who else i thought was good today? i thought jamie foxx was good. and in a sense he kind of called out hollywood to be active and to be supportive. he mentioned some people who were doing things that he thought were admirable. i thought he gave a good speech and of course did some good impressions, too. >> gene robinson, thank you for being here on this important night, thank you for joining us. >> happy to be here, lawrence. coming up, the only speaker that day 50 years ago who was still with us, john louis is in

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in the spotlight tonight, the crisis in syria, president obama says he has not made a decision yet on whether he will order military action in syria, but made the case for a limited strike during an interview with pbs's news hour today. >> when you start to talk about chemical weapons in a country that has the largest stock pile of chemical weapons anywhere, over time their control over the chemical weapons may er ode, where they're known terrorist

organizations that have targeted the united states in the past. then there is a prospect, a possibility in which chemical weapons can have devastating effects could be directed at us. and we want to make sure that that does not happen. and if, in fact, we can take limited tailored approaches, not getting drawn into a long conflict, not a repetition of you know, iraq, which i know a lot of people are worried about. but if we are saying in a clear and decisive but very limited way, we send a shot out saying stop doing this, that can have an impact for our national security in the long-term and may have the impact that chemical weapons are not used again on innocent civilians.

>> they tell us we are past the point of return, end quote, 116 members of the house of representatives, 98 republicans joined by 18 democrats sent a letter to president obama this afternoon calling for congressional authorization first. we strongly urge you to consult and receive authorization from congress before ordering the use of u.s. military force in syria. we stand ready to come back into session, consider the facts before us, and share the burden of decisions made regarding u.s. involvement in the quickly escalating syrian conflict. house speaker john boehner also sent a letter today asking the president to make his case to congress.

the administration officials plan to brief key members of congress tomorrow, including committee chairman and congressional leaders. joining me now is the washington editor at large for "the atlantic" steve clemens. steve, i want to go to the discussion of the possibility that the chemical weapons could have devastating effects, could be directed at us. the chemical weapons that he thinks exist in syria, how would that happen? how would the chemical weapons get from syria to go directed at us? >> well, the most obvious possibility would be that the controls that syria has traditionally held on the chemical weapons, were enormously distributed throughout the country, with groups such as hezbollah. there were concerns that extreme islamist groups that were holding the journalists. it is the worry that any one of these groups could end up with those kind of weapons and use them against either the united states or its allies.

and that possibility still exists even after the potential attacks against syria. so these weapons are a real problem -- >> but steve, can i ask you technically, what would be the transport method of those -- that kind of weapon from syria to the united states? >> well, i think that -- to the united states proper, they would have to come over by boat, ship, or some other mechanism. i don't think they could be fired by any means. >> right. >> they could be fired at u.s. embassies there or something. so we have a geographical advantage. but the sarin gas that hits highly populated areas, whether it is malls or these -- these kinds of things, are a genuine concern. and when these attacks happen, they're not going to be

attacking these weapons, they're sending a message saying get these under control, stop using them and move forward. because i think that the fear is, there is always a chance that assad could escalate, and could in fact try and strike us in various ways. or try to gain leverage by threatening to give these weapons to other non-state actors. >> well, steve, if the idea of american military intervention in some form is to somehow create stable control over the chemical weapons supply in syria, what is it that the military mission is attempting to accomplish other than presumably shore up the dictatorship that has up to now controlled those weapons? >> i think the president is trying very hard to thread a complicated needle. in april of 2010, joe biden and

president obama hosted a major nuclear materials and wmd materials conference here in washington, d.c., and viewed essentially trying to create -- restoring a global commons that prevented the proliferation and use of wmds and chemical weapons as a defining point of their administration. so not to act from their point of view is not really an option. i think when from their point of view they're trying to create a stable option, how do you go from a strike on syria to a geneva peace process? you have both sides squaring off. and i think it may sound odd and it would be nice to review in a month on what happens, but if things went well and you were able to punish the regime enough so that people could tell it was compelling but not part of a regime strategy which the administration has been bending over backwards saying we're not trying to knock out assad, that

is a signal to the russians saying we are open to some change in the future. and that allows us to go into a geneva peace process. it sounds like an odd equation, but it could happen. >> i think everything sounds odd in this scenario. and the thing i can't get around is how through military intervention that we could somehow find the people in that country that we could rely on to make sure the chemical weapons could be kept safe and stable. i just don't see how we'll get to there. but thank you for joining us, steve clemens. >> thank you, lawrence. coming up, a man who sang on the steps of the lincoln memorial 50 years ago and sang here again today. paul, of peter, paul and mary will join me tonight. and in the rewrite, john louis, in his own words.r ]

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i walked through that door, dr. king said, oh, you're the boy from troy. are you john louis? and i said dr. king, i am john robert louis. so from that moment on he started calling me the boy from troy. >> john robert louis was 23 years old when he spoke at the lincoln memorial 50 years ago today. at that moment, congressman louis recalled how he felt that day and what the march on washington meant for american history. >> this is all of us standing before the ceremony. you can see hundreds and thousands of people coming towards constitution avenue. and we knew then that we were going to have many more people than we expected. it was a very special day. i felt so uplifted and so moved. if it had not been for the march on washington, the civil rights

act of '64, the voting rights back of 1965. for the leadership of martin luther king jr. and involvement of hundreds and thousands of other people, there would be no barack obama as president of the united states. >> john louis paid for progress with his own blood. he was beaten viciously by police more than once for his participation. police brutality was a factor of people involved in the civil rights act. which is why he referred to police brutality twice in his remarkable speech 50 years ago. congressman louis and then senator barack obama marked one of the most vicious police riots of that era at the edmond bridge in selma, alabama, at the anniversary of that horrible event. >> when we got to the top of the bridge, the highest point on the bridge, down below we saw a sea

below of alabama state troopers. and we continued to walk. >> had a concussion at the bridge. i thought i saw death. i thought i was going to die. and i stood up and said something like that. i don't understand it, how president johnson can send troops to vietnam, and cannot send troops to selma, alabama, to protect people whom it desires to register to vote. >> and in that statement, john louis fused the civil rights movement with the anti-war movement. and not long after that, civil rights speeches were being written to include anti-war statements. dr. king began to join those two causes together in almost every speech he gave, until his death in 1968. >> i have chosen to preach about the war in vietnam today because i agree with dante.

that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality. there comes a time when silence is betrayal. >> peter, paul, and mary were troubadours of first, the civil rights movement and then the anti-war movement. they sang at the lincoln memorial 50 years ago and sang the same song there today. paul will join me in the next segment to share his feelings about both of them. 50 years ago, most americans believed that singing and preaching and speech-making and marching could not change our world. and certainly could not stop a war. and everyone who thought that was wrong. >> our world is different, we live in a different world.

it is a better place. it is a better place. the fear is gone. and i think all of us in america today, we're a little more human. paul of peter, paul and mary who performed that day 50 years ago and performed today will join me next. [ male announcer] surprise -- you're having triplets. [ babies crying ] surprise -- your house was built on an ancient burial ground. [ ghosts moaning ] surprise -- your car needs a new transmission. [ coyote howls ] how about no more surprises? now you can get all the online trading tools you need without any surprise fees.

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paul of peter, paul and mary who performed that day 50 years ago and performed today will join me next. but you had to leave right now, would you go? man: 'oh i can't go tonight' woman: 'i can't.' hero : that's what expedia asked me. host: book the flight but you have to go right now. hero: (laughs) and i just go? this is for real right? this is for real? i always said one day i'd go to china, just never thought it'd be today. anncr: we're giving away a trip every day. download the expedia app and your next trip could be on us.

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staples has it. staples. that was easy. ♪ ♪ how many years before it is washed to the sea ♪ how many years can the evil exist before they're allowed to be free ♪ >> peter, paul and mary sang 50 years ago at the lincoln memorial. and peter and paul sang that same song again today, joined by trayvon martin's parents and mark barden, the father of daniel barden, a first grader whose father was killed in newtown, connecticut. >> too many people ♪ ♪ ♪ have died. >> there were many people on the mall today who heard that song there 50 years ago. and then heard it again today. >> i was sitting in the first row 50 years ago. and it is nice to be anywhere 50 years later. >> dr. king was there and he gave people hope that america

would live up to its promise. that all people are created equal. and so i felt that. when i came down to the mall that day, i felt that hope. >> everybody was there. it was a good crowd. what else can i say? black and white together. >> i am almost 70. but i see -- but now i can understand the importance of what my mom and dad saw when they put me on the bus at 17. i could see the importance now of having my grandchildren and my son-in-law march with me. that is a generation who will bring another generation with them. >> for me, it is an effort on my part to continue doing something. to try to say to the younger generation that they, too, have to march and demonstrate and be galvanized. >> joining me now, paul stookey of the folk group, peter, paul,

and mary. this is a great more for me, i am a lifetime fan of you musically, and then also of you as a crusader, a social crusader, so i just want to begin with the words, thank you for being here and thank you for everything you have done for so many years. >> oh, well those are very couldn't words, lawrence. i feel a little embarrassed, i think, as someone who has inherited an incredibly beautiful legacy from the '60s and all the great folk music that preceded it from woody, to josh white, to pete seger, who is still with us.

and the informing of community, which i felt so strongly there today. and i don't want to wax too early -- before you ask me a question. but i just got to tell you that i was very aware of the fact that love, with a capital l, was more prevalent, at least was admitted to. the words i think agape was used by president carter. i think i really have the sense as the world shrinks that love is the answer. as corny as they thought it was in the '60s and the '70 when all the flower children made their recordings, music. the artist's capacity to bring the connection between the human hearts together, i really felt it there today more than i did 50 years ago. and i'm feeling it in the world at large.

>> but that act was a deliberate act of making music part of the movement. i'm not sure -- all of our younger viewers know that bob dylan wrote "blowing in the wind" in 1962. so it was just a year before, he wrote it in the thick of the civil rights movement and was very, very conscious on how these words could be applied in situations. the way you, peter, paul and mary did 50 years ago. >> i think that the production of lyrics has less to do with focus, and more to do with feeling. certainly, you know, medgar evers was to the point. but i think -- blowing in the wind is timeless, lawrence. >> yes. >> and it applied, as you indicated, the -- to the march against the war in vietnam. these are as mary used to put it, questions of constancy. these are timeless questions of

which you and i and the people who were there today and around the world are the answer. >> could you talk about what it felt like and how conscious you were of the period where the civil rights movement was gradually blending with and joining with what was too mature of the anti-war movement? >> i think it is pretty easy to see now that the arc of concern, which first of all, we were empowered by the civil rights movement. it not only was the issue, no pun intended, of black and white, but it gave, as i think was also mentioned today -- it gave a sense that when a large group of people get together, we can bring voice to the government. we can bring power to the government. so the matriculation of a large

number of people could bring about the end of an inherited war, if you will, in the late '60s. but if you think of the arc of it, don't you agree that when it became civil rights, it quickly turned into human rights. when you talk about human rights, we're talking about gender issues. we're talking about equality. we're talking about environments. we're also talking about war. so i think it is only natural. and folk music's big impact, truly, if you think was that it brought context to music, and now we can talk about anything through the musical forum. >> paul stookey of peter, paul and mary, thank you very much for honoring us tonight for being here again, and thank you again for all of your work for so many years from your heart and talent. thank you so much. >> thank you.

>> up next, a very special edition of chris hayes' show with martin luther king jr.'s "i have a dream" speech in its entirety. a question of character. let's play "hardball." ♪ good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. the content of his character. remember that great line in martin luther king's speech? remember how he offered the hope that his four little children as he put it would some day be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character? have we reached that day? have we? is that how people of color are judged today? is that how the president of the united states has been judged? by the content of his character? i wish. you may wish. he must wish.