Sondra “Sandy” Hassan
Sondra “Sandy” Barrett Hassan, right, and Melvin Deal in the 1960s. Deal was the founder of the African Heritage Dancers and Drummers and Hassan started dancing with the ensemble around the time of the March on Washington. Photo courtesy of Hassan
Sondra “Sandy” Hassan had just graduated from a Washington, D.C., high school and was headed to Howard University when she was assigned the role of a marshal during the March on Washington and ended up briefly escorting march critic and Nation of Islam leader Malcolm X. Hassan, who describes herself simply as a spiritual person, is a quilter and former member of the African Heritage Dancers and Drummers. Hassan, 77, is a retired District government employee who worked in its mental health department for two decades.
I understand you escorted Malcolm X during the march.
Malcolm X had his own entourage. As a marshal, I was given a particular area to stand and escort marchers as they came or point them in the direction of the Lincoln Memorial. I was some distance away from the podium. And that really disturbed me because I wanted to be right up front. I wanted to hear all the speakers. I wanted to be right in the thick of it. However, I had this job to do. I was a sentry. But then all of a sudden, Malcolm X, and his entourage and the press that was following him, came into my area.
I was much more of an integrationist than he was, and I believed in the work of both SNCC (the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and Dr. Martin Luther King. So, though his (Malcolm X’s) words always found resonance with me, I was a little bit afraid of him. But then, here he comes, right into my section. He was being interviewed by the press. And so this little skinny 17-year-old was walking him and his entourage to the next marshal. And during that period of time, I really did feel as if I was in the presence of greatness.
What did it mean for you as a woman attending the march?
Sondra “Sandy” Hassan. Photo courtesy of Hassan
It just meant everything to me. When I was in high school, I got involved with testing restaurants in Virginia. And so I would be with some of my white classmates going out to various restaurants mostly in Arlington, Alexandria, to see if they would seat us. And my group, we were seated but we were never, ever fed. And at times we were asked to leave.
How does this relate to what it meant to you to attend the march?
It was just a continuation. Because I was active in high school, I continued my activism in college.
To this day, what strikes you most about the March on Washington?
It was a beautiful, crystal clear day. The sun was bearing down on us. I had never seen that many people in one location. I mean, Black people, white people, Asian people, movie stars. I saw Sidney Poitier and I saw Ruby Dee and her husband (Ossie Davis). It seemed to me that I was, right at that moment, living through the greatest period in American history, full of activism and optimism. I just knew things were going to get better for Black folks and for white folks too. That if we could join hands and sing “We Shall Overcome,” then we were going to overcome.
