mr. martin luther king junior. and whereas, the smhsonian institution in partnership with the national veteran's network has organized a 7-city tour to bring the medal and a story to communities throughout the country and will come to the mhd in the museum on june 29, to august 24, 2014 and whereas the partnership has developed the curriculum for elementary and high school levels and the high school curriculum is piloted at the toren unified school district and in addition in january of 2011, the board voted to adopt a resolution in observations of the civil liberties and the constitution and to commemorate the courage of coramatso, a recipient to challenge the constitutionality of the war time incarceration. and has alled developed the curriculum for elementary and middle and haol sky level and these kits include the video giems and lesson plans and posters are available at no charge to teachers. therefore, be it resolved that the board of education encourages the faculty and students to visit the gold medal exhib

martin luther king day. [ laughter ] [ door knocks ] >> mr. president, is everything okay in here. i heard voices. >> yep, just thinking out loud. >> why are you making excuses to him? just be like "i'm the first black president. shut the hell up and go to sleep." [ laughter ] >> dr. king, do you have any serious advice for me? >> oh yes, i do, yes, i do. you're doing a good job, barack. i'm proud of you. but, there's still work to do. you're the first black president, but we're still waiting for our first black magician. there hasn't been a black king of england, and it is 2013 and still not a single black child in the band one direction. >> i mean, do you think there are any that want to be? >> probably not, probably not. but for tonight, enjoy yourself. you have earned it.

king said to me, john that doesn't sound like you. and mr. randolph said, john we've come this far together let's stay together. i could not say no to randolph or martin luther.. mr. randolph had been dreaming of a march on washington since the days of roosevelt and the days of truman. so we made the changes. and i deleted all the reference to sherman. and sort of suggested thateñ we would be forced to march through cities, including cities in the north as well as the south. >> so after the speech was over, you went back to the white house and this time the president was happier? >> after dr. king had delivered his i have a dream speech, president kennedy invited us back to the white house. he was stand in the oval office. he was just smiling almost grinning. he was so pleased he was so up, it was almost like a father proud of his children. and he stood in the door and he greeted each one of us. you you did a good job, you did a good job. and when he got to dr. king he said you had a dream. >> as people celebrate the 50th anniversary in the wake of supreme court ruling on voting rights and the wake of the turmoil this summer over the george simmer man trayv

barack obama has led the 50th anniversary celebration of martin luther king's "i have a dream" speech. mr. obama remembered an event which may have contributed to his own presidency. [♪ music ] >> reporter: as they march the crowd sang the freedom songs of the earlier generation which gathered before the lincoln memorial half a century ago. they all recall that day as a page in the history books, but some like 69 of-year-old jacqueline hess were retracing the same steps they had they had taken in 1963. >> we had made a lot of practicing in the past 50 years, but we got a lot more to go. >> reporter: joys ladner still had the badge she wore for the 1963 march. she remembered the opposite progression in her native mississippi. >> coming no north for the marc, and the federal government on the conditions down south did, in fact, give us th the bear brd base of support. >> crediting the civil rights movement for gay lesbian rights, yet there was the recognition of unmet goals of 19th 63. >> reporter: 50 years later these marchs are repeating the same demands economic and political. jobs and j

martin luther king's words spoken 50 years agoe at last. >> those are perhaps martin luther king's words spoken 50 years ago marking the march on washington, mr. shelton is joining us this evening. good to see you. >> as we reflect 50 years on, to what extent have we achieved the goal set forth by martin luther king, jr.? >> we are a much more integrated society than we were in 1963. we are seeing that mean communities are much more integrated. people are living together. if you look at aries like education, employment, if you look at many other areas you see that we have much more diversity in those who attend, those who work for, and those who are actually serving in our u.s. congress. of course, we now have our first african-american president of the country. there has been a lot of move forward for the united states of america in the areas of integration. >> you were on the ground today in washington. give me a chance of the atmosphere. do you feel this is a celebration of what we have achieved or more of a catalyst for greater equality? >> it was both. it was both a recognition of what has been done of the last 50 years that our nation h

mr. obama can do that. when president obama can use his bully pulpit to do both, and then the effectiveness of his excoriation of black people will ring true. martin luther kingce. mr. obama, president obama has a far way to go. of a prophetic pulpit, which talks about personal responsibility as well as structural deficits. >> thank you also to dana milbank. >>> coming up, pat robertson said, what about gay americans? you won't believe this. well, actually maybe you will. [ female announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsai

mr. president, and congratulations again. that was very moving having your inauguration fall on martin luther king day. >> yes, that was, that was pretty special. [ laughter ] to four more years. [ clock chimes ] >> barack! barack obama! [ laughter ] >> it is i, the reverend dr. martin luther king junior -- [ applause ] and i have come to visit with you on the night of this historic inauguration. >> this is incredible. dr. king, there is so much i want to discuss with you. >> and i with you, barack. please have a seat. >> so tell me, dr. king, have i lived up to the promise of your legacy? are we on the right track as a nation? >> oh, we'll get to all of that, barack. we'll get to that. but, first things first, did you -- did you see that girl, beyonce?

national action network, reverend al sharpton and oldest son of martin luther king, jr., president of the real life dream, martin luther king iii. mrclip, i don't know if you were in studio yet, with david gregory of your father when he was on "meet the press" and i realized that so few of us have seen him talk outside of the speech and i wondered, someone who got to hear his cadence on a daily basis, seeing something like that how that affects you? >> any time that i -- in fact, i was just sitting here listening to the intro and fighting tears a little bit because it's very emotional. but it also sets a tone, dad was a person who brought so many people together in our nation and throughout our world but he forecast what the future could become. and what's most interesting is, we are at a juncture where 50 years ago, the march was for jobs and freedom. today the march is really still for jobs, freedom and justice. just because what has happened over the last two months, specifically the gutting of the voting rights act and the trayvon martin verdict that many are concerned about. >> how would you assess, martin, the status of the d

mr. sheldon, the mention here today realizing the dream of martin luther king a year 50 yeo implies thatone of his goals have been accomplished? >> no, not at all. this is as much a com commemoran as celebration of the dream that he laid out on that hot day of august 1963. the issue was a march for jobs and freedom. the issue is to making sure that our constitution is real for all americans. if you point back to--we'll use dr. king's speech, for instance, in 1963 as a guideline for how we analyze the agenda going forward. dr. king first began talking about the constitution was very much like a promissory note, a check, if we might, one guaranteeing all the citizens of the united states equal protection under law, and all those other rights and privileges and protections in the constitution. and that, indeed, for african-americans and so many others, that had not been accomplished. in essence that check had come back stamped insufficient funds. he sent people out from that march saying we must now accomplish these goals, voting rights, freedom, addressing the criminal justice system and e

mr. berry gordy. not only did harry belafonte l murton with working out of jail so that he -- bail martin luther king t he could march, he also paid corunna scott king's hills. they are telling me to get out of here. we have to salute mr. berry gordy. he put dr. king's speech on an album and put it out on motown records and after he did that, he turned around and gave those reels and tapes back to the king family. thank you so much. do not forget, 50 years. i am out. [applause] >> jamie foxx, ladies and gentlemen. please help me welcome one of man who needss, a no introduction, a man whose going to fire us up, a man who is the president of the national action network, the reverend al sharpton. [applause] 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 thought and they beat jim crow. we come today to not only celebrate and commemorate, but we come as children of dr. king to say that we are going to face jim crow's children because

[cheers and applause] please give a warm welcome to martin luther king iii. >> mr. dad delivered his message blessed that we were able to bring our daughter, who 5 hopefully paying attention, years old, so that she can history and is continue to participate. there are two quick other things want to say. i have been speaking all week as have.of us but i'm reminded that dad challenged us. challenged he did, our nation to be a better nation for all god's children. i'm reminded that he taught us agape love, love, the love that is totally somebody if u love you are old, young, white, native american, latino, it doesn't matter because god calls us to do that. love and forgiveness is what we need more of not just in our the world.throughout so i want to rush to tell you the ultimate measure of where one ng is stands not in times of comfort and convenience but in times of challenge and controversy. said on some questions acts is the position, speed is vanity is a position but that something deep inside calls conscience acts is position of rights so often talked about someti

mr. president, you've just come from making a speech celebrating a flawn violent event, the march on washington, martin luther king's speech 50 years ago. we're going to get to that in just a moment but first we want to ask you about a place where there's been too much violence, syria. how close are you tho authorize, a military strike and can you assure the american people that by doing so, given iraq and afghanistan, that the united states will not get bogged down in yet another war halfway around the world? >> well, first of all, i have not made a decision. i have gotten options from our military, had extensive discussions with my national security team, so let me talk about what's at stake here. i think we all understand terrible things have been happening in syria for quite some time, that the assad regime there has been killing its own people by the tens of thousands, that there are sectarian arguments that have spilled over into bloodshed, and have escalated over the last couple of years. and although what's happened there is tragic, andil anding ah i have called for assad to leave and make sure we have a tra

them and god bless america. [ applause [ applause ] >> please give a warm welcome to martin luther king the iii. >> mrdent carter, president clinton, congressman lewis, and to all program participant participants this is an unusual moment in our world history. as we observe this 50th anniversa anniversary. i am so thankful for the opportunity to really thank america for help iing to realiz the dream, although i must say it is not yet realized. and so we must redouble and quadruple our efforts. so much has been said today and i was 5 years old in 1963, when dad delivered his message. so i am blessed we were able to bring our daughter, who is hopefully paying attention 3 years -- 5 years old -- so she can appreciate this history and continue to participate. there are two quick other things that i want to say. i've been speaking all week, as many of us have. but i'm reminded that dad challenged us. that's what he did, challenged our nation to be a better nation for all god's children. i'm reminded that he taught us the power of love, ag gaagape l the love that is totally unselfish, love someone whether r

[cheers and applause] >> please give a warm welcome to martin luther king, iii. >> mr.ll program participants, this is an unusual moment in our world history as we observe the 50th anniversary. and i'm so thankful for the opportunity to really thank america for helping to realize the dream. although i must say it is not yet realized. so we must redouble and quadruple our efforts. so much has been said today -- and i was 5 years old in 1963 when dad delivered his message so, i'm blessed that we were able to bring our daughter, who is hopefully paying attention, 5 years old, so that she can appreciate this history and continue to participate. there are two quick other things that i want to say. i have been speaking all week as many of us have. but i'm reminded that dad challenged us. that's what he did, challenged our nation to be a better nation for all god's children. i'm reminded that he taught us the power of love, the love that is totally unselfish, you love somebody if you are old, young, white, black, native american, latino, it doesn't matter because god calls us

cannot do that even if youility are the first black president.ople's champion [applause] martin luther -- martinn's mr. king was leading the pork people's campaign and he traded access to the lyndon johnson white housei-pov because they're needed to be anti-poverty and job ng die legislation in the uniteding states.fre dr. king died advocating for 1,000 black men who were becauss sanitation workers ini tennessee and he is assassinated becausetogethhi dr. king brings together whites, blacks, latinos and native americans to come to washington and for they entire summer and tries to been to the nations will into effective legislation for poor people but people talk about dr. king as the nonviolent activist the isnd the the 20th century revolutionary not using violence as a tactic to beenso to the nations will to save he calls the sole of america we cannot have a black feesident to be unwilling to say this is the black agenda that we need with these three things and you have to push for this rhetorically in with public policy hes gives of pre-speech but then u he says as president of united states he can do not

willing to take those consequences for the greater good i think that martin luther king there was a don't arrest me you know so i think that mr stone should get some good lawyers and should argue that you know that he had that he had some legal justification for this so for the most part congress doesn't want to give edward snowden any credit but as long as they're listening to his message and acting out his message by writing legislation but it doesn't much matter what congress thinks of the messenger because ultimately both edward snowden and some of these lawmakers probably agree on one larger point that this was never about edward snowden in washington sam sacks are two. we have a quick programming note for you tomorrow is the six month anniversary of the hunger strike at guantanamo bay and our team is planning extensive coverage. the guantanamo bay detention facility is now over eleven years old the broken presidential promises the congressional subtotal the never ending war on terror forces a spider together to keep this prison open but now a hunger strike there is the tear it all down as this hunger strike there six mo

[cheers and applause] >> please give a warm welcome to martin luther king iii. >> mr.rogram participants, this is an unusual moment in our world history as we observe the 50th anniversary. and i'm so thankful for the opportunities to really thank america for helping to realize the dream. although i must say it is not yet realized. so we must redouble and quadruple our efforts. so much has been said today -- and i was 5 years old in 1963 when dad delivered his message so, i'm blessed that we were able to bring our daughter, who is hopefully paying attention, 5 years old, so that she can appreciate this history and continue to participate. there are two quick other things that i want to say. i have been speaking all week, as many of us have. but i'm reminded that dad challenged us. that's what he did, challenged our nation to be a better nation for all god's children. i'm reminded that he taught us the power of love, agape love, the love that is totally unselfish, you love somebody if you are old, young, white, black, native american, latino, it doesn't matter because go

mr. obama, president obama, first lady michelle, jimmy carter and bill clinton, making their way down, all to commemorate the 50 years since martin luther kingjr.'s, "i have a dream" speech. logon to nbcbayarea.com to watch it live any time. logon to nbcbayarea.com to watch [ male announcer ] at sizzler... it's back for a limited time! fire grilled steak and golden all-you-can-eat shrimp for an incredible $9.99! only at sizzler! >>> this morning, a memorial continues to grow for 17-year-old robert orlando, killed in a car crash the night before he was to start his senior year at san ramon valley high school. >> it's cliche. and you hear it all the time, especially in times like these. but he was special. he was going to make a big difference in the world for the world and for himself, because people just gravitated around him. >> so tough. orlando and two friends were on their way home from a fishing trip monday night went driver of the car crashed into a tree. they were only five minutes from orlando's home. the cause of the crash is under investigation but police say there were no immediate signs of drugs or alcohol. the two other teenager

mrs. reagan, she loved calf liver. >> reporter: small moment, and significant ones too. >> the march on washington, martin luther king. you won't lose your job. i went out and listened to his speech. it was really, really thrilling. >> reporter: one of hamilton's proudest moments came during the most painful period in american history. what was is like being a black man in the white house during the civil rights movement? >> it was hard. they were promoting other people and not the blacks. >> reporter: so he gave an ultimat ultimatum on behalf of the black staff, they wanted more pay or not work the state dinner. >> we're not going to work. we wanted the raise. two days later, we got the raise. >> reporter: oprah winfrey was awed by their courage. >> you think of a servant bowing down. the grace and know billty that took to do that, to hold your head up every day. i have a greater sense of pride for those men in that time. >> reporter: a time hamilton says he'll never forget. five decades of white house memories, including a heartfelt fair well from the obamas. is there anything that you feel you're going to regret t

my colleague who has done all of .his [applause] , i was here in washington with martin luther king jr. and mrwalker and all the rest of them and i was involved. marching and i did other things during those two are day -- two or three days we spent here. and it isevelation all over again. thank god for to today. we have come a long way. there have been so many people, many of them in this room, who has sacrificed to bring us to this point in our history. and i want to thank the chairman of our party who has looked out and said we need to go up to another level and he is reaching out and taking a party to that level. [applause] i want to thank all of those people -- first, i want to thank god. then all of the people who gaveficed and the many who their lives that we may see this day. the years have been filled with andent and anger and death many, many successes. we have a lot to be thankful for. we need to be prayerful and reaffirming our commitment to do everything we can to make this a better nation. we still have to work on that. because we still have to -- we still have people to understan

the martin luther king anniversary of his i have a dream speech, the anniversary of the march on washington. you have a reputation, mr. president, for being pretty cool and detached. but standing there at the lincoln memorial at the place -- >> our thanks oour friends at the -- to our friends at the newshour at pbs for allowing us to watch. >>> the president it seems to me is attempting to make the case for what he is assuming is a limited attack, that's what it is a limited attack on syria. >> he's a man who campaigned on ending wars not starting one. you can hear it in his tone of voice so i'm looking for the information that the administration says it has which is coming in from some source which backs up the claim that it was the syrian government that did that chemical are attack last wednesday morning. we're looking for that sometime on thursday. >> there was something else. the moment we dropped on that discussion, there was a discussion of the chemical stock piles that the world knows exist inside syria. the idea of securing the chemical stock piles, i don't know that you could do that without putting boots o

mr. randolph said we've come this far together. let's stay together. i couldn't say no to a. phillip randolph. i couldn't say no to martin luther kingere to speak, what was going through your mind. you'd been in the trenches, you'd been arrested. you faced all that. what were you thinking when you stood here and looked out? >> when i stood here and looked out and saw the sea of humanity, i was gratified. i was deeply moved and inspired so many people had turned out. some people say it was 250,000 people. i think it was many more. i looked to my right and i saw all of these young people standing there just cheering. and then i looked to my left, i saw young men black and white, up in the trees trying to get a better view of the podium and the lincoln memorial. and i looked straight ahead and i saw all of these people with their shoes off, their feet in the water trying to cool off. i looked straight ahead and i said to myself, this is it. and i started speaking. >> those saying be patient and wait, we must say we cannot be patient. we do not want our freedom gradually. but we want to be free now. >> two days after the march was over

martin luther king, jr., he worked with him closely until his death. he also teaches at the university of san francisco. mrclarence jones, thank you for joining us tonight, sir, it's an honor to have you here. >> thank you, rachel. >> go ahead, sir. >> i wanted to say, you got it right, except that in signing the promissory note, it was a demand, which meant the promissory note is payable any time the creditor wants to be paid. when i left the bank, i was so surprised by this, that i called harry bellafonte and said, harry, you didn't tell me i'd have to sign a demand promissory note. he said, well, better you than me. i said, but you have more money than i do. but in any event it was done, and we were appreciative of it, i took the money to birmingham, and the following, that was on a saturday, the following tuesday, there was a messenger that came to my office with an envelope marked personal and confidential, and the envelope and there was the promissory note i signed and it said paid in full. obviously i didn't pay it, it had been paid. that was a profound experience. first of all, a very great gesture

mrs. lincoln." there is a church in new orleans that played a special role in the civil rights movement and in launching martin luther king, jr., as a national leader. as robert ray reports, parishioners have been remembering the man and his mention. >> at new zion baptist church, pastor cs gordon preached his message while his congregation prayed and rejoiced it's been 50 years since the march on washington and martin luther king, jr.'s "i have a dream" speech. for many, it has a deep meaning. it was here at this place of christian that the southern christian leadership congress was chartered, 1957 and martin luther king was 28 years old. the civil rights movement was gaining strength. hit was about to be made. >> most of the books you read on the civil rights movement and on the life of dr. king somehow that point is overlooked. it may not even be known by many people. >> the organizers decided on new orleans as a place of momentary retreat, a safe haven, given death threats against king and his supporters. elwood davis was a new orleans police officer assigned to protect king. >> because, you know, threats that they ha

martin luther king, jr. of the sclc. eugene robinson and melissa harris-perry are still with me. as we hear from mr.it as much as we used to. but he seems to be harkening back encouraging and getting more people involved in how people used to get political active for movements. >> certainly it's true we should not lose the strategies that have been effective in the past. at the same time we will also need to innovate new strategies. at this moment for example in south carolina, the south carolina moral monday movement is bringing together north carolinians marching each and every monday they have been for months and they are doing that as a demonstration of their push back against the republican state legislature there in north carolina and particularly the voting restrictions, the funding restrictions on unemployment benefits, on public schools that are occurring there. that's important. but the other part of what they are doing is the kind of key legislative efforts to try to change those laws that they are distressed about and at the same time also beginning to think about how to run candidates i

mr. randolph said something like, "we come this far together, john. let's stay together." and i couldn't say no to a. philip randolph. i couldn't say no to martin luther king, jr. >> so you agreed to some changes. you took out the words criticizing the president's bill as being too little and too late. you took out the call to march through the heart of dixie the way sherman did. you took out the question asking which side is the federal government on. you took out the reference to some political leaders as "cheap," and you took them out, you're saying, because you were on the team, and because you honored a. philip randolph and martin luther king who said, "john, some of those words don't sound like you?" >> i did it. and as i look back and think about it 50 years later, i think it was the right thing to do. i have always tried to be a team player, and try not to violate any principles, or violate my philosophy. >> but were you angry at yourself at the time? >> i don't think i was angry. i think i had a sense of righteous indignation. >> let us not forget that we are involved in a serious social revolution. but by and large, american politics is dominated

mr. president, you've just come from making a speech celebrating a nonviolent event the march on washington, martin luther kingears ago. we'll get to that in just a moment. first we want to ask you about a place that has had too much viles, syria. how close are you to authorizing a military strike and can you assure the american people that by doing so, given iraq and afghanistan that the united states will not get bogged down in yet another war halfway around the world? >> well, first of all, identi'v made a decision. i've gotten option from our military. had extensive discussions with my national security team. let me talk about what's at stake here. i think we understand terrible things have been happening in syria for quite some time. that the assad regime there has been killing its own people by the tens of thousands. that there are sectarian arguments that have spilled over into bloodshed, and have escalated over the last couple of years. and although what happened there is tragic and although i have called for assad to leave and make sure that we got a transitional government that can be inclusive in sy

martin luther king, jr. was delivering his famous i have a dream speech before the march on washington back in 1963 and john harwood, you can't help but think that mr. obama is there speaking not loin as head of state but gives him an opportunity speak as an african-american as well. >> absolutely right. he also acknowledged the big shadow that he was speaking under. he said no one can match king's brilliance. you have a part of the speech that was universal and cast it as part of the quest for worldwide freedom, for gays and women in the united states and other groups as well. but you also had a very combative part of the speech called out progressives for some racial division within their side of the political argument, but was very tough on what he called entrenched interests and lobbyists who wanted to preserve inequality and did it with a tone of frustration, bill, that seemed to say he was cognizant of those impossible odds he referred to at the end of his speech. he has a big challenge. >> it was very balanced, john, absolutely, when you talk about the various criticisms that he lobbed. i love how he used excerpt from the declaration of inde

martin luther king jr. delivered his eloquent i have a dream speech. >> 50 years later the president is perhaps the most high profile example of king's dream of racial harmony. mrg that dream. here is abc's devon dwyer. ♪ we shall not be >> reporter: 50 years ago today they poured into washington by the bus loads. a march of tens of thousand. black and white, to the monument of the president who freed the slaves. signs and voices demanding racial equality. today a celebration of progress at the lincoln memorial and call to action. on new challenges. three american presidents, jimmy carter, bill clinton and barack obama will speak from the same steps where dr. martin luther king jr. delivered his historic speech. >> i have a dream today. >> reporter: organizers expect thousands to turn out to show that dr. king's dream still lives on a day that will begin with prayer at the shiloh baptist church before another march to the national mall. >> we were over behind where dr. king's shoulder was in this close enough to be able to hear all the speeches. >> lynn french was 16 years old when she attended the 1963 march on washington. she hopes today's speeches inspire ge

martin luther king, jr. he was there for an astonishing suite of history. you know, all those emotions had to swirl inside of him. his son was serving in vietnam. mr. yet his job was to be there and yet to not be there in a sense. >> yes. i mean, just think about it, in the '50s, he was an employee at the most powerful address in the world. but he would go back to his native virginia, scottsville, virginia, and would have to use a segregated bathroom. >> your mom passed away the day before the election in 2008. yet your dad went out and voted. >> oh, yes. he was going to vote and, you know, my mom had arthritis very bad. i was supposed to get her an absentee ballot, which i didn't do. i apologized to her that saturday, and i said, well, mom, i'm sorry i didn't get the ballot for you. he said, that's okay. she said i'm going to walk on tuesday and she walked up the stairs and she didn't come down anymore. that being the morning of the 3rd. so dad, you know, he had to go up there and call the law. but it was still unrealistic up to the point where we were at the inauguration. we got invited to the inauguration. >> what was that moment like for your d

martin luther king, christine king. she's two years older than dr. king. but you see there his only surviving sibling. we're expecting to hear now from bernice king. let's listen in. >> president obama, mrslinton, congressman lewis, ambassador young, to my brother martin iii, dexter scott king, and to my entire family, i was 5 months old when my father delivered his "i have a dream" speech, and i probably was somewhere crawling on the floor or taking a nap after having a meal. but today is a glorious day because on this program today we have witnessed a manifestation of the beloved community. and we thank everyone for their presence here today. today we have been honored to have three presidents of the united states. 50 years ago the president did not attend. today we are honored to have many women in the planning and mobilization of the 50th anniversary of the march on washington. 50 years ago there was not a single woman on the program. today we are honored to have not just one young person but several young people on the program today. it is certainly a tribute to the work and the legacy of so many people that have gone on before us. 50 years ago today in the symbolic shadow of this g