Murray Kempton

Murray Kempton was a famous American journalist and a writer. He pursued his studies at John Hopkins University. In his life he worked as a labor organizer, a New York Post staff, and served in Air Force. After the Second World War, he rejoined the New York as a labor editor and went on to become a columnist. He worked with such periodicals as the New Republic, the New Yorker. He wrote article about various social, political, and cultural issues. His article The March on Washington was published in the New Republic on September 14, 1963. In it, Kempton argued that political activism of African American people took an unexpected form of pilgrimage. Moreover, he believes that such demonstrations can eventually change the political landscape of the United States.

First, Kempton points out that many people believed that the March on Washington would not be peaceful. In particular, he says,"Washington waited most of the summer for the for the avenging Negro army to march on Washington," but this march turned to be the largest religious pilgrimage in the history of the country. The idea to have this kind of march was floated by Philip Randolph, and the Bayard Rustin organized the march.The march was organized primarily to protest against black segregation and discrimination in allocation of job opportunities. The March to Washington and I have a Dream and more of the same things. There is a great similarity between them. Both had a common goal and the goal was fighting for the rights of the Negro. Another similarity was that both authors agree that this event was bound to raise people's awareness about the problems of segregation and discrimination in America. Moreover, Kempton and King believe that racial inequality can be ended only if people representing different religions and races work hand in hand. They share the belief in the ability and willingness of American people to fight against injustice.

Second, there are some points which come out as contradicting between the March on Washington and I have a Dream. I have a Dream concentrated on the fate of the Negro and the hope they had for the future but the article by Murray Kempton focused on the way the March was organized and the kind of hurdles that were confronted particularly the resistance by President Kennedy. Kempton further described how the negotiation with the President was carried out, and the disagrement among the leaders. Another difference is that the article by Kempton tells how Lewis speech created void between the Negro and the white. But wish as King was,he took the stand and praised his white fellows to show up in large numbers.

Finally, both march created a platform where thousands of blacks and whites expressed their dissatisfaction with the racial injustices of the time. It was a call for the civil rights bill, It was also a way of focusing the nation on the plight of the black people,as a result, It became a way