Today we’re recognizing the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for what it was: A turning point in the civil rights movement that motivated Congress to take action on inequality. First came the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and then later the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Those who marched on the Washington Mall 50 years ago today made their demands clear–they wanted fair labor standards, decent housing, desegregated schools, a higher minimum wage, and job opportunities. But half a century later, though progress had been made, many of the marchers’ demands remain unmet.
Joining to discuss the future of the modern civil rights movement is Farai Chideya, a distinguished writer in residence at New York University’s Journalism Institute; Peter Blair Henry, the Dean of New York University’s Stern School of Business; and George Packer, a staff writer at The New Yorker.