50 years ago today, August 28, 1963, there was a march on Washington, DC lead by Martin Luther King, Jr. A Brockporter was there

Dr. King's "I have a Dream" speech from Jon Cobler on Vimeo.

Brockporter, Carol Taillie, lives on Beverly Drive in Brockport with her husband, Paul, and she was there at the March On Washington on that historic day, 50 years ago when she was 11 years old. I interviewed Carol about her experience.

David : Carol, I understand that you went to the March on Washington back on August 28, 1963. How old were you and how did you happen to go?

Carol: I had just turned eleven a couple of weeks before the march. My parents felt strongly that they wanted their children to witness "history in the making". We, as a family watched what was going on in the south at the time on tv, and we'd travelled south and had seen and talked about segregation. My mom and dad decided to pile us all into the station wagon and head to Washington, from our very rural home in southwest New York state.

David: What did you understand about the purpose of the march at the time? What do you understand the purpose of the march was now as an adult?

Carol: I guess I basically understood the purpose of the march in very simple terms. I didn't sense the importance of this time in the history of our nation. My understanding of the conditions being protested against, and the immense commitment people had to have to come together at that time is far greater now, obviously.

David: What stands out for you at this point in time, 50 years later, as the most important thing about the march?

Carol:  The thing that stands out most profoundly is the caring, non-violent, cooperation of all participants. 

The event has had an extremely positive impact on my life. The fact that my parents cared so much about our nation and were trying to help change the country non-violently makes me proud.

David: To what extent do you think that Martin Luther King, Jr.' vision of the Beloved Community which he describes in his "I have a dream" speech has been achieved in Brockport, in our country?

Carol:  I wish we had made better progress. I do not think we are anywhere close to true equality when we have the rates of incarceration of persons of color, along with terrible reading scores, and very high drop out rates. We still have defacto segregation in so many parts of our country. I was so proud and pleased when we elected Obama. Still, his election has not caused our country to make much progress in these areas.

David: What do you think is one of the most important aspects of Martin Luther King's legacy that his life has left for us?

Carol: .I think that the fact that MLK voiced his dream so eloquently, and that people gained such strength from hearing him voice it, is a great legacy.

David: Anything else you would like the readers of the Brockporter to know about this historical event and/or your experience?

Carol:  The one thing which I have not mentioned is that even as a young person I could sense the heightened security around the capitol, because many exits off the beltway were blocked by police and National Guard. I remember listening to my parents talking about whether they should try to go into the city, and thinking back, I can understand their concern, since they were traveling with my grandma who was over 70 at the time, my brother, who had down syndrome, and me at age eleven, and my sister who was seven. We did go into the city, and what I remember was a multitude of people, all happy and quietly listening to what was happening over the loud speakers.

David: Thank you very much, Carol. It is very interesting to know that we have a first hand witness and account of that day here in Brockport. I have heard you tell your story before at the Brockport Unitarian Universalist Fellowhip and it is a great privlege and honor to be able to share some of it today, on this day of historic remembrance on The Brockporter.

Editor's note: If other Brockporters have memories of that day, please share them in the comments.