Half a century later...

At 5:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, Aug. 24, a chartered bus left the Marshall’s parking lot in Newton with only enough empty seats to accommodate a group of passengers meeting the bus at the Rockaway Townsquare Mall.

They were en route to Washington, DC, to join thousands of other Americans who were both commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington — at which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his “I Have a Dream” speech — and calling attention to what many who rode the bus believe are objectives which remain to be achieved a half century later.

The march’s organizers expected an attendance of 100,000 people.

Though it is next to impossible to estimate how many actually attended, it was clear the organizers’ logistics were completely overwhelmed. Most of the buses needed to park in the Robert F. Kennedy stadium parking lot; their passengers then had to use the Washington, DC, subway (the Metro) to travel to the Lincoln Memorial, where the initial rally was held before the march.

In 1963 the first tunnels of the Metro system were eight years in the future.

The Metro stations were so crowded that train crews simply opened the turnstiles and allowed people to board without putting their tickets through the ticket readers. Even with all the logistical problems, people expressed how excited they felt to be there.

The bus 'captain' was Barbara Cozine of Branchville, a retired teacher and school administrator. She felt exhilarated by the energy, passion, and camaraderie of the people in attendance. “Race and gender should not be contributory to one’s status in life,” she told Straus News. She was especially moved that so many parents came with their young children, who will likely be able to attend the 100th anniversary of the 1963 march.

The co-chairpersons of the Sparta United Methodist Church’s Church and Society Committee, Mike Vraebel and Litsa Binder, were also on the bus to Washington.

Litsa Binder expressed her pleasure at being part of the event honoring the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, but stressed, “It is also necessary to raise our voices for civil rights, for economic justice, and for peace, issues that are as relevant today as they were 50 years ago.”

She said, “There are not enough jobs with sufficient wages to make a living. Too many people are unemployed or underemployed, and too many jobs do not offer benefits such as health insurance.” She recalled that in the weeks before his death, Dr. King was leading a union organizing drive for municipal workers in Memphis, TN. She called on New Jersey voters to vote in favor of a referendum question to increase the minimum wage in the upcoming election.

Two officers of the League of Women Voters traveled from Newton on the bus as well: Sussex County President Susan Pironti and New Jersey Statewide President Toni Zimmer.

Both women are residents of Sparta.

Zimmer said, “It was such a great feeling to see so many people there. Everyone who was there was there for the same reason, even though they may have been there for a different cause,” whether it was for jobs, for racial equality, for peace, or for voting rights.

On the subject of voting rights, Zimmer said, “There is still much to be done in light of the Supreme Court decision to strike down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. We as citizens must ensure that Congress pass a new bill to protect and restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”

Labor unions were very much in support of the Aug. 24 March, and expressed their support beyond their attendance: the Communications Workers of America paid for the bus from Newton so that all the passengers could travel free of charge.