March On Washington Analysis

Leonard Freed and The March on Washington
The Civil Rights movement was essential for the equality of African Americans in the United States. March on Washington was a political rally on August 28, 1963; that fought for jobs and freedom for African Americans. The march was the largest of its kind in the history of the United States with over 250,000 people in attendance, and more than 60,000 of them were white. Leonard Freed's black and white photograph, at the March on Washington, captures the spirit and hope of the Civil Rights movement seen in the faces of the man and woman in the picture (see Fig 1). "Freed's images reveal the powerful impact on the march, which took place in the midst of the Civil Rights movement" ("This is the Day: The March on Washington" para. 3).
Freed was a photojournalist who was most known for documenting the lives of African Americans who were battling through inequalities during the mid and late 1900s. Early in his career, he did freelance photography in Israel, and around Europe, Freed also examined Jewish themes and Germany after reconstruction. Some of his noteworthy books are Black
in White America (1967), Made in Germany (1970), and Police Work (1980). The March on Washington protest was an event that Freed attended and took a plethora of photos of the people in attendance showing unity, and fighting for a change. "Freed photographed the massive crowd as it gathered and swelled, and then went in tight to capture "groups of marchers chanting and singing in their Sunday-best clothes, a range of individual expressions" and the interplay of text and image on placards" ("This is the Day: The March on Washington" para. 4) . Freed's photo is in black and white, and it focuses on two people out of the crowd as they sang "We Shall Overcome" at the protest.
The couple in the image is placed more on the right side of the frame, making the picture more off centered. Most of Freed's shots at the protest showed a lot of pure emotion of the people there making it notable how important the whole rally was. "These images present spectacular wide-angle views of the hundreds of thousands of marchers overflowing the National Mall, intimate group portraits of people straining to see the speakers, and tight close-ups of individual faces" ("This is the Day: The March on Washington" para.2). A picture that Freed took that was very powerful on showing unity between each other was a group of blacks and whites together locking arms in front of the Lincoln Memorial building (see Fig.
2).
The March on Washington event as a whole was a positive one. Even though prominent changes didn't happen overnight, it helped sustain and strengthen the ones who were committed into fighting for the social injustices that they were hoping to change. Months after the March on Washington, political leaders were pressured to act after violence continued to break out. The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and The Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped in the progress towards equality for African Americans. "The success of the March on Washington and the achievements of the modern black freedom struggle reverberated throughout society and provided a model for social change" ("Legacy and Impact of the March" para.4)
The Civil Rights movement became one of the leading factors in achieving equality for African Americans. Leonard Freed's photographs showed the impact of the march, giving insight on unity and emotions of the protestors fighting for equality. The event that captured the attention of the world became one of the most powerful forms of protesting the anyone has ever seen.