The March on Washington

A. Philip Randolph appointed Rustin deputy director of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Rustin helped coordinate transportation, security, program timing, volunteers, and the many organizations participating in the event.

The march’s full name reflected a coalition larger than a single civil-rights demand. Its program joined racial equality to employment and economic claims, consistent with Rustin’s long effort to connect civil-rights organizations and organized labor.