Sunday, August 25
I Have a Dream Gospel Brunch at the Willard InterContinental Hotel, 11:30 a.m. Willard Hotel, 1401 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
Featuring famed opera singer Denyce Graves backed by a Gospel choir, the commemorative brunch includes a sparkling wine reception, elaborate Southern-style brunch buffet by Executive Chef Luc Dendievel and a commemorative Martin Luther King keepsake. The program includes a dramatic reading from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and stirring rendition of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” – penned by poet Julia Ward Howe at the Willard Hotel. Dr. King completed his famous speech at the Willard Hotel where he spent the night before walking to the nearby Lincoln Memorial. Cost for the brunch is $132 pp (includes tax and gratuity). For reservations, call 202-637-7350 or visit washington.intercontinental.com.
Note: The Willard InterContinental is offering two unique hotel packages:
Dream the Dream: One night, double-occupancy, August 24. Deluxe room, I Have a Dream Gospel Brunch and a commemorative keepsake. Rates start at $399.
Dream Discovery: Two nights, double occupancy, thru Sept. 2, 2013. Deluxe room, breakfast in Café du Parc, commemorative keepsake, tickets (Weds.-Sun.) for DC in Black: Civil War to Civil Rights Tour, a five-hour private tour. Rates start at $318, night (two nights minimum).
Tuesday, August 27
50th Anniversary March on Washington Conference on Civil Rights at Howard University. The event will include panel discussions, speakers, and open discussion groups. Registration is required.
Wednesday, August 28
Interfaith Service, Martin Luther King Memorial, West Basin Drive SW at Independence Avenue SW.
Dedicated in 2011, the most recent national memorial in Washington, DC honors Dr. King’s vision for all to enjoy a life of freedom, opportunity, and justice. National Park Service rangers give regularly scheduled talks on the life and contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr. An interfaith service will be held at the Memorial on August 28, 2013, from 9-10:30 a.m.
March for Jobs and Justice and Let Freedom Ring, National Mall
The march will begin at 9:30 a.m. Participants will assemble at 600 New Jersey Avenue, Washington DC at 8 a.m. and proceed to the United States Department of Labor at 200 Constitution Avenue, then to the United States Department of Justice at 950 Pennsylvania Avenue and ending at a rally on the National Mall. Following the march (time to be determined) President Barack Obama will speak to the nation from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. At 3 p.m. Let Freedom Ring, an international bell-ringing event designed to inspire unity will take place. To date, groups from places as diverse as Washington, DC; Tokyo, Japan and Lutry, Switzerland.
Six Museum Exhibits Related to the March on Washington:
Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and The March on Washington, 1963, National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW.
The exhibition, part of the forthcoming National Museum of African American History and Culture, compares and contrasts two pivotal events and their national reverberations today. The exhibition features historic and modern photographs and items ranging from Harriet Tubman’s shawl to a portable version of the Emancipation Proclamation, one created for Union soldiers to read to and distribute among African Americans. The exhibition will run through Sept. 15, 2013.
Make Some Noise: Students and the Civil Rights Movement, Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave NW.
The newly-opened permanent exhibit explores the new generation of student leaders in the early 1960s who fought segregation by exercising their First Amendment rights. It spotlights key figures in the student civil rights movement, including future Congressman John Lewis and Julian Bond, who later became chairman of the NAACP and co-founded the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The Newseum has also launched, Civil Rights at 50. This three-year exhibit will be updated each year to chronicle milestones in the civil rights movement from 1963, 1964 and 1965 through historic front pages, magazines and news images. “Civil Rights at 50″ will be on display through 2015.
A Day Like No Other: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, The Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE.
The exhibition will consist of 40 black-and-white images from newspaper and other media photographers, independent photojournalists and people who participated in the march—represent the cross-section of individuals who were there. Part of the collections in the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division, the images convey the immediacy of being at the march and the palpable excitement of those who were there. The exhibition will allow visitors to rediscover the context and ongoing legacy of this important event in the country’s history. The exhibit will run August 28, 2013-March 1, 2014.
American People, Black Light: Faith Ringgold’s Paintings of the 1960s, National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave NW.
The exhibition explores the issues that were at the forefront of Ringgold’s experience of racial inequality in the United States during the 1960s. An African-American multimedia artist, Ringgold created bold, provocative paintings in direct response to the Civil Rights and feminist movements. The exhibition includes 45 works from the landmark series American People (1963–67) and Black Light (1967–71), along with related murals and political posters. The exhibition will run thru Nov. 10, 2013.
One Life: Martin Luther King Jr., National Portrait Gallery, 8th and F Streets NW.
With historic photographs, prints, paintings and memorabilia, this exhibition puts the 50th anniversary of the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” and King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in cultural context. It covers King’s career from his rise to prominence as the leader of the national civil rights movement to his work as an anti-war activist and advocate for those living in poverty. The exhibit runs thru June 1, 2014.
Celebrate Dr. King’s Legacy at the 50th Anniversary of the March On Washington was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
