4 big accomplishments of the 1963 March on Washington

Fifty years ago today, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. But there's more to remember than just that.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
(Image credit: Bettmann/CORBIS)

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The event is most famous for the "I Have a Dream" speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to a crowd of some 250,000 people on the Washington Mall — and millions more via television.

When President Obama speaks today from the spot where King stood, he'll have some awfully big shoes to fill. Fifty years ago, on a hot afternoon following lengthy bus caravans and train rides, an actual march in Washington, then a morning of music and speeches about legislation and unemployment and racial injustice, King stepped to the lectern and "took a leap into history," says Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times:

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.