Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Washington DC – Amid the steamy summer heat, approximately 300 Chinese Americans from 34 states and DC metro area gathered to hold a Walk for Civil Rights to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This commemorative event was organized by United Chinese Americans (UCA) which wrapped its 4-day biannual national convention.

Sixty years ago, on July 2, 1964, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, which was passed by both houses of the U.S. Congress, and which paved the way for the subsequent passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which transformed the United States from a segregated White Supremacy-dominated society into a vibrant multicultural, multiethnic, and vibrant democracy.

Therefore, by commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, participants not only expressed heartfelt gratitude to all those Americans who suffered, persevered and sacrificed during the Civil Rights Movement, but also reaffirmed our allegiance to the Founding Principles of the U.S. as a nation, and our determination to continued Dr. King’s Unfinished Dream.

Today's event began at 9:00 a.m. at the U.S. World War II Memorial. Waving the American flags, big and small, wearing pins specially made for today's event and holding a small American flag, participants took group photo with the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial in the background to pay tribute to the Founding Fathers and those who sacrificed their lives in World War II against Fascism. During World War II, about 20,000 Chinese Americans enlisted in the military. Astonishingly, 40% of these Chinese soldiers did not have U.S. citizenship, but they were still willing to fight for the United States. The U.S. Congress in 2018 finally passed the Chinese American World War II Veterans Congressional Gold Medal Act to recognize Chinese American veterans’ honorable contributions and sacrifices made to the United States.

Carrying many homemade banners with slogans such as “Walk For Civil Rights”, “Equal Rights for Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964All”, “Equal Rights for All”, “We Have a Dream”, “All People Are Created Equal”. “Commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act”, etc., the participants then walked hand in hand towards the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, reenacting symbolically the March from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders to fight for equal rights in a nonviolent and peaceful way.

After arriving at Dr. King’s Monument, the group stood in silence and laid a wreath as heartfelt tribute to Dr. King. A historian in the group explained that the granite statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "The Stone of Hope", which was selected by Dr. King's Memorial Committee from a number of proposals, and designed and sculpted by Yi-Zhen Lei from Hunan Province, China. The design was inspired by a quote from Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech: "Mountain of Despair, Stone of Hope".

Next, the organizers selected six high school students (3 boys, 3 girls) to lead a recitation of six of Dr. King's most famous civil rights quotes:

1)     Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

2)     Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

3)     The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

4)     True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.

5)     The time is always right to do what is right.

6)     I have a dream that our children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. by the content of their character.

The group then walked along the National Mall, and resembled at steps in front of the Lincoln Memorial. After the group photos were taken, the choir conductor led the participants to sing three songs: (1) This land is your land, this land is my land. (2) Tomorrow will be Better (a Chinese pop song from 1980s), and (3) We Shall Overcome. The chorus of these three songs brought this commemorative event to its climax with everyone chanting "Walk for Civil Rights" and "Walk for Our Rights".

It is worth mentioning more than 30% of the participants were high school or college students, from whom we can see the hope of carrying on the baton of the Civil Rights Movements to fight for a better future.

Also participating in today's commemoration was Ms. Ashley Gorski, a senior staff attorney representing the ACLU, who, in response to a live interview by Sinovision, emphasized that “here in America everyone deserved equal treatment regardless of where they are from."

The United States was founded on the idea that all men are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. All participants said that today's commemoration once again proclaimed to the American public the loyalty of Chinese Americans to the founding principles of the United States and their commitment to unite all ethnic groups in the struggle to build a "more perfect union" that is just and equal for everyone, regardless of race or color, as protected by the Constitution.

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Contact: Lewis Liu

Event Co-chair and Spokesman Info@CRA1964.net