Albany to celebrate the March on Washington’s 60th anniversary

ALBANY — Frank Wilson remembers being a student at Monroe High School in Albany during the summer of 1962, watching the Albany Civil Rights Movement “up close and personal.”

The 77-year-old Albany resident attended mass meetings, participated in marches and glued himself to the television when the March on Washington took place.

“I knew then that it was a significant occurrence,” Wilson said. “I knew that the speech that Dr. King made was going to be a significant speech. I did not realize at the time that that speech would jettison the political climate to a point that it would move the needle more toward a civil rights bill.”

The Albany Civil Rights Movement began in the fall of 1961, challenging racial segregation and discrimination in the city. The movement garnered the attention of Martin Luther King Jr. that December. Hundreds of black protestors, including King, were arrested in Albany in one week. King left Albany eight months later.

In August 1963, a quarter of a million people rallied in Washington, D.C., for the March on Washington. They rallied for jobs, freedom and an end to segregation. It was at this event King gave his infamous “I have a dream” speech.

Sixty years later, Wilson said the idea came to him in a dream to hold an event honoring the march, as well as the leaders of the Albany Movement.

“This year it was put in my spirit that 60 years was a significant number and worthy of celebration, especially here in Albany,” he said.

Not only was there a lot of Civil Rights activity in Albany, Wilson said, but many Albanians attended the March on Washington. They were led by Charles Sherrod, one of the founders of the Albany Movement and field secretary for southwest Georgia for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which was a channel for student involvement in the movement.

After 12 weeks of careful planning, Albany will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington on Saturday. Attendees will gather at the Albany Civic Center’s back parking lot at 100 W. Oglethorpe Blvd. at 8:30 a.m. The march will begin at 9 a.m. from the lot and end at the Albany Civil Rights Institute.

The event will feature speakers such as participants from the Albany Movement, gospel recording artist Ida M. Carr-Austin, and BernNadette “Thelma Evans” Stanis, an actress and motivational speaker who will be signing books and taking pictures after the program.

There also will be learning activities for youths.

Major sponsors of the event include the Thronateeska Heritage Center and New Georgia Project, among others. Partnerships with organizations like Shiloh Baptist Church and SOWEGA Rising, a nonprofit dedicated to bottom-up growth in southwest Georgia, allowed the event to culminate into what it will look like Saturday.

The march was a significant part of American, African American and Civil Rights history, Wilson said. It brings up the question of where we can go from here.

“The question that comes away from this is ‘Why are we still marching?’” Wilson said. “Part of that can be answered by looking at those things that were addressed in 1963. Some of those things are still very prevalent.”

Discrimination, unequal pay, voting rights and women’s rights are still very much a part of our landscape, he said.

“This march on Saturday is a celebration and commemoration,” Wilson said. “It’s also another beacon of light that we shine on those issues as we reflect and also project, because those issues are still very much before us.”

Georgia CEO President Matt Reed worked with the group to organize and get Albany businesses involved. Wilson was the driving factor in a team effort to commemorate a pivotal moment in our history, Reed said. Twelve weeks ago, when Reed sat in on an early planning committee meeting, the scale of the event seemed daunting, he said.

“But when Mr. Frank Wilson asks you to do something, you do it,” he said. “He’s simply eclipsed all expectations.”

The speed with which Wilson organized the event comes down to momentum and assembling a group of community leaders that not only touch different parts of the community, but also all intertwine in different ways, Reed said.

The event is open to everyone, and Wilson emphasized that in the case of extreme heat, comfort will be prioritized and the event will be moved indoors. He sees it as both a learning and teaching opportunity.

“This is not just for Albanians,” he said. “Folks from across the region are urged to come into Albany and be a part of this historic moment.”

By Lucille Lannigan[email protected]