What was it in particular that was your task as you worked on this?
Taking notes, keeping the water pitchers filled (laughs). Going out getting the food, typing up what they had come up with, so that they can review it.
On Aug. 28, 1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed the crowd gathered during the March on Washington, delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech. RNS file photo
What did you think when you saw it on TV, after all that typing and water pitcher filling?
That’s not the speech! (laughs) That’s not what he said. You asked and I’m going to tell you the truth. That was my reaction. Oh my goodness. All that hard work and he’s not going to give the speech? He just left completely what they had worked on and agreed to. He was saying (singer) Mahalia Jackson’s thought because she was saying, “Martin, tell them about the dream, tell them about the dream.”
What strikes you about it to this day when you think about the fact that we’re at 60 years from the March on Washington?
Willie Pearl Mackey King. Courtesy photo
The thing that always comes to the forefront of my mind is the thing that Dr. King preached the most of all, nonviolence — how we have let that slip through our fingers and how violent our society is. I think about the fact that it’s a joke now when people talk about equal job opportunities. We made progress in the early days, yes, but it seems that we’ve gotten complacent, relaxed. A few have made it and the masses are still struggling for equal job opportunities.
What did it mean for you to have the role you did in the preparations for the March on Washington, especially as a woman of faith?
To be honest, I did not comprehend the importance of what was happening at the time. It was a job. I was happy to have a job. It was the first job out of a cotton field and the best thing that I had had, really. So I didn’t really understand. It was only later when I realized, oh my goodness, this was very important that I was doing. At the time, it did not have a specific important meaning.
What about significance for the nation 60 years later?
I would hope, in my humble opinion, that the nation would look back at where we were, and where we are today and see that working together, we can benefit each other. Separating us is not the thing we should do. We should all try and come together to make this country the great country God intended it to be. We can’t do it fighting each other, separating the races and cultures. We have got to come together.
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie was the opening preacher for the 51st annual African Methodist Episcopal General Conference in July 2021. Photo courtesy of AME Church
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie was on the National Mall with her mother and aunts, part of a publishing family that was covering the march for The Afro American newspaper. Then 16, she recalled being dressed that day like she was going to church. McKenzie, 76, a retired bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, is the president and general secretary of the National Council of Churches.
What do you remember specifically about the march?
It was very hot, very sunny that day. There were different signs. The sign I chose was for education. After all, I’m a kid in school. I remember I had a little yellow dress and I had my ankle socks and Mary Janes. (laughs)
