“The brutality of police dogs, cattle prods, billysticks, fire hoses and gas have dramatized the Negro’s plight and galvanized the national conscience.” – Charles Toney, 1965
Organizer of the March on Washington and one of the main leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, A. Philip Randolph and Charles Toney were good friends. Charles gave A. Philip a Pacem in Terris award for his work with Civil Rights
March on Washington
Charles Toney was very good friends with A. Phillip Randolph, the man who organized the March on Washington. Charles remembered taking part in the march, noting, “It was the most vital thing that I have ever been in.”
The March on Washington took place August 28, 1963. As the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s was picking up the pace, A. Phillip decided the time was right for a march on the nation’s capitol, designed to take place the same time that the Civil Rights Act was set to go through Congress. A. Phillip hoped that the march would help highlight several of the elements of the Civil Rights Act, such as the goal to end segregation in public areas and the banning of acts of discrimination in the workplace.
The march is perhaps most famous as the site of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. People like Charles traveled from all over the United States to participate in the march, from many different organizations, religions, and racial backgrounds. In addition to MLK’s speech, several other civil rights leaders spoke, all talking about goals for a future America without discrimination.
Charles felt inspired by the actions and words spoken during the March on Washington. He believed that his work as Manager of Minority Relations at John Deere and the work he did with Affirmative Action were prompted by the speeches and people present at the march that day.
“Some guy had shimmied up a lamp post. He hollered down, he said, ‘Smile!’ Said, ‘Don’t be so sober…We’re marching for freedom!'” Charles recalled during an interview about the march.
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- Along with several other religious groups, the CIC participated in the March on Washington.
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- Cover of the magazine released with images from the March on Washington.
The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a movement during the 1920s and 1930s that originated in Harlan, New York, but spread across the U.S. It was a revival and renewal of African American art, music, and writing. One of the most famous African Americans to come out of the Harlan Renaissance was Langston Hughes. He was a poet who wrote primarily about the “American Dream,” but also wrote poems about African-American life in the early 1900s.
A pamphlet containing one of Hughes’ poems, signed by the author to Charles Toney.
In 1944, Langston sent a copy of his poem, Freedom Plows, to Charles, as a thank you for sending a note and a copy of the Sepia Record magazine to Langston. This once again shows the connection between the efforts of local and national Civil Rights activists.
To read a transcript of this poem click here >> Transcript of Freedom’s Plow
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