American folk singer and activist Pete Seeger (left) adopted and helped popularize "We Shall Overcome" by teaching the song at rallies and protests. Here he sings with activists in Greenwood, Miss., in 1963. Adger Cowans/Getty Images hide caption
The March On Washington At 50 NPR coverage of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, one of the hallmark events of the American civil rights movement.
Special Series
The March On Washington At 50
NPR coverage of the March on Washington, one of the hallmark events of the civil rights movement.
Demonstrators march through the streets. Colorized by Oliver Wistisen. Original photo by Warren K. Leffler/Library of Congress hide caption
National Guardsman Burton Johnson set up a cot at a first aid station ahead of the March on Washington. AP hide caption
A white heckler arrested during an anti-segregation demonstration in Lexington, Ky., is hustled into a police car in August 1963. Forty years later, the Lexington Herald-Leader ran a correction apologizing for the newspaper's lack of coverage of the civil rights movement. AP hide caption
Fifty years after the March on Washington, five people recall their experiences. NPR hide caption
More than 200,000 gather on the Washington Monument grounds before marching to the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963. AP hide caption
A spectator on the National Mall holds an image of President Obama and Martin Luther King during the 2013 presidential inauguration in January. Gabriel B. Tait/MCT/Landov hide caption
Clarence B. Jones, legal adviser to Martin Luther King Jr., takes notes behind King at a press conference regarding in Birmingham, Ala., in February 1963. Ernst Haas/Getty Images hide caption
Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., speaks Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial during activities to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. Michael Reynolds/EPA /Landov hide caption
Clarence B. Jones this month in Palo Alto, Calif. As Martin Luther King Jr.'s attorney and adviser, Jones contributed to many of King's speeches, including his famous speech at the March on Washington in 1963. Norbert von der Groeben/Reuters/Landov hide caption
Charter bus passengers look for their transportation home after the March on Washington of Aug. 28, 1963. AP hide caption
George Whitmore Jr., a 19-year-old unemployed laborer, is shown in a Brooklyn, N.Y., police station on April 25, 1964, after his arrest in the Career Girl Murders. Jack Kanthal/AP hide caption
Joseph Burden (third row, third from right) with his graduating class at Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department training academy in 1960. Every officer on the force was required to work the day of the March on Washington. Courtesy of Joseph Burden hide caption
Gerald Bundy of Philadelphia was 13 when his older cousin convinced him to go to the March on Washington in 1963. Bundy returned 50 years later to celebrate the anniversary. When he looks back on it now he believes the experience, "made me more cognizant of social justice; made me an activist." Chloe Coleman/NPR hide caption
Demonstrators on Saturday in Washington, D.C., commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters/Landov hide caption
Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer of Ruleville, Miss., speaks to the state's Freedom Democratic Party sympathizers outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C., in 1965. William J. Smith/AP hide caption
People hold signs as they gather to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption
Crowds gather in front of the Washington Monument during the "March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom" in 1963. AP hide caption
Civil rights leader Martin Luther King waves to supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington. AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Activist Bayard Rustin points to a map during a press conference four days ahead of the March on Washington in August 1963. AP hide caption