Daily History Challenge · No. 1 · Monday 29 June 2026 · When?
Puzzle No. 1: When?
The event was March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, in 28 August 1963.
The answer
On 28 August 1963 more than a quarter of a million people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, one of the largest political demonstrations in U.S. history to that point. Organised by a coalition of civil rights, labour and religious groups, the peaceful, interracial march demanded an end to racial segregation, fair employment and the passage of meaningful civil rights legislation. It is best remembered for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech, delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The march generated decisive political momentum for civil rights reform and is credited with helping propel the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and, subsequently, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As a Cold War-era event, it also sharpened international scrutiny of American racial inequality at a moment when the United States presented itself as the leader of the 'free world'.