James Felder revisits March on Washington 60 years later

Apr 02, 2024

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WASHINGTON — Sixty years after the March on Washington, James Felder, a local Civil Rights activist, revisited the Nation's capital to celebrate progress and reflect on what still needs to change.

Life-long civil rights activist and local trailblazer Jim Felder has made fighting oppression his life's work. As a 24-year-old in the army in 1963, he was tasked with standing guard during Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous March on Washington.

"They had military, all law enforcement in the D.C. area on high alert. I was sitting on the banks of the Potomac River, looking behind the Lincoln Memorial -- fixed bayonet, gas mask, live grenades -- waiting for something to happen. Nothing happened; 250,000 people came to town, and by seven o'clock, they had all gone; not one arrest was made in D.C. at the time," Felder said.

Six decades later, Felder was given the opportunity to celebrate the March on Washington, this time as one of the thousands who showed up to March. Felder said a lot has changed in 60 years, but Saturday's event looked similar to the original one.

"It was interesting; this time, there were more young people there than there were 60 years ago, and that was pleasing to see -- young folk that are concerned about the struggle, concerned about where we are today," he said.

Felder said he has seen progress in South Carolina over 60 years.

"In 1963, we only had eight Black elected officials in the whole state; four were in Eastover, four were down in Beaufort," he said. "We only had 50,000 Black registered voters in South California in 1963; today, we've got over a million."

However, he said the celebration also allowed him to think about what hasn't changed -- and the fight he's still a part of.

"Now, you're running into more subtle kinds of things -- things you really can't see -- and it's more involved at the racial level," Felder said. "Just under the surface, racism is starting to raise its head again."

He said the best thing everyone, especially the younger generations, can do is educate themselves and, most importantly, vote.

"The information is there; we're just not spreading it enough; we're spreading garbage on the internet," he said. "I'm hoping that that generation will get us out of the muck and mud that we are in today."