Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/166026
Learning Teachable Moment Judy Collier took a train to Washington from her hometown of Chicago, the daughter of progressive parents and granddaughter of a suffragist. The plan was to meet up with her boyfriend at the time, who was taking a bus from Atlanta, at the far left pillar of the Lincoln Memorial (amazingly, they did). Judy Collier moved to California in 1964 in time to take part in the free speech movement at UC Berkeley, and taught elementary kids for 25 years in West Contra Costa Unified. She took 17 black-and-white pictures at the march and treasures those images, using them now when she gives school talks about what the early civil rights struggles meant. She still has her iconic button from the protest showing two hands, black and white, firmly clasping. It is a badge of honor. In her talks with younger students, she has them cut out paper copies of the button and threads each circle with yarn so kids can wear the badge around their necks. "I didn't know it then, but this was to be one of the most memorable days of my life," Collier says of her Washington experience. "I remember a little boy selling newspapers with the headline, 'They're Pouring in From All Over.' There was a group of people from North Carolina singing freedom songs. We had arrived early enough to get up close on the grass. Everyone was dressed up, as if they were going to work or church. There were young and old, white and black, and such a feeling of hope and unity. "I'll never forget when Martin Luther King Jr. spoke, or how we held hands and sang 'We Shall Overcome' afterwards. One of my photos shows the signs that the folks in front of us carried: 'We March for Effective Civil Rights Now!' and 'We March For Integrated Schools Now!'" The decorum of the crowd struck her. "To see the sea of faces, black and white, everybody dressed up like they were going to church — it was overwhelming. There was this hope that things would change." She has hope today as well. "If we come together, anything is possible." Harriet Hutchinson was a college student in New Jersey in 1963. She says she was different from other students: "Everybody had pictures of the Beatles up in their dorm rooms. I had Bob Dylan." She is Jewish and remembers how Jews and people of color were placed in one certain dorm. Hutchinson continued to be active in the civil rights movement after the march, moved to California in 1967, and taught in Oakland Unified School District for 40 years before retiring. She still coaches beginning teachers part time for the district, and she clearly remembers driving to Washington from New Jersey with a friend that summer. "There were people everywhere! I had never been anyplace where there were so many people. There was no fear. There was so much camaraderie and good feelings, and everyone stopped to talk to each other, asking where they were from. We walked together. We sang together. On the day of the event, it was so crowded, we couldn't get very close. So it was difficult to see, but the sound system was good, and we were able to hear. "I remember feeling very proud that I was part of this event and that I was able to be counted. It turned out to be just the beginning for me." Hutchinson marched in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., a landmark event focusing on registering blacks to vote. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. walked in the march, and when the tired crowd reached Montgomery, he came and thanked all who took part. But the March on Washington sparked her heart first, as it did a generation of hearts. "We drove down because we felt it was important that our voices be heard and our presence be known." In their own words Visit cta.org/witnesstohistory to watch Browne, Collier and Hutchinson reflect on their experiences at the March on Washington 50 years ago. 54 Educator 09 Sep 2013 v3.6 int.indd 54 S E P T E M B E R 2013 9/3/13 2:26 PM