Media & Resources

Marian Wright Edelman Joins Soledad O’Brien and Kitty Kelley to Highlight Never Before Published Images of the March on Washington

WASHINGTON, DC – The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) is partnering with the National Archives to host a discussion about the first time publication of legendary photographer Stanley Tretick’s powerful photos of the 1963 March on Washington at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 12, 2013.The event is free and open to the public at the National Archive’s William G. McGowan Theater. Journalist Soledad O’Brien will moderate a discussion between Marian Wright Edelman, president of CDF and legendary civil rights leader and participant in the March, and Kitty Kelley, bestselling author of Let Freedom Ring: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the March on Washington. The program will include Tretick’s photos projected on a screen and vocal performances by Garrick Jordan followed by a book signing.

“The publication of the extraordinary photos by my friend Stanley Tretick revives the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom for a new generation of young leaders. It is now the responsibility of these young leaders to lead the charge to cash the check of opportunity at America’s bank of justice that Dr. King spoke about in his ‘I have a Dream Speech.’ Dr. King said we had come to the nation’s capital that August day to cash a check America had written nearly two hundred years earlier. He reminded us that when our nation’s founders wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, they had created a promissory note that guaranteed all Americans the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Fifty years after the march, we must not let anyone tell us that our rich nation’s vaults of justice and opportunity are bankrupt. And we must not tolerate any longer any resistance to creating jobs and providing the early childhood development and education supports every human being needs to survive and thrive,” said Marian Wright Edelman who wrote the foreword to Kelley’s book.

The never-before-seen beautiful, sometimes haunting, photographs in Let Freedom Ring: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the March on Washington capture the transcendent, nonviolent, interracial, intergenerational, and interfaith gathering at the Lincoln Memorial of Americans for freedom and justice. Tretick’s panorama of August 28, 1963 captures everything from the masses gathered on the National Mall to the behind the scenes activities of public figures as events unfolded that day. All proceeds of the book will benefit the Children’s Defense Fund.

This event is free and open to the public and the media.

WHO

Soledad O’Brien, Journalist
Marian Wright Edelman, President, Children’s Defense Fund
Kitty Kelley, Author, Let Freedom Ring: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the
March on Washington
Garrick Jordan, Vocalist

WHAT

Let Freedom Ring: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of
the March on Washington Author Discussion & Performance

WHEN

7 p.m., Thursday, September 12, 2013

WHERE

National Archives, William G. McGowan Theater
Special Events Entrance, 7th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW