What Was the March on Washington?

What was...?

by Kathleen Krull, Tim Tomkinson (Illustrations)

On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 people gathered in Washington, DC, to demand equal rights for all races. It was there that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, and it was this peaceful protest that spurred the momentous civil rights laws of the mid-1960s. With black-and-white artwork throughout and sixteen pages of photographs, the March is brought to life!

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Biography, Middle Grade, American History, Historical

112 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 2013

Reviews

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learning English by myself Project. An awesome book. I learned a lot from this. (2020)

This time, I re-read and translated the most difficult idiomatic expressions, words and phrasal verbs! (2021)

[Moonkiszt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Featured in a grandma reads session.

Using February as a good month to look at some topics we don't read about enough, I chose this book to present to my reading group. My choice was confirmed by the steady, earnest interest they took in it - especially the older kiddos. I had hesitated because of the hard truths it contains - reasons for the march, murders, persecution and hardships faced - but then launched because of the hard truths it contains. These are things they need to know, events that happened in my life and part of the truth I know.

They were hungry to know it. I had the feeling it filled in some gaps for them. I will continue on this path.

4 stars for the effort taken to get this in accessible form for the youngest of us.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the "What Was..." series, and I'm really happy that two of those books were included in the Oregon Battle of the Books contest. I'm really excited to share this particular book with the group, as the March on Washington story shows not only some of the worst of America and humanity but also the best.

[Tera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I knew a lot about the March but I learned a lot of new things reading this. I adore these books. They are perfect for learning

[Rowe Vinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very, very sad and I hope we never have a water fountain that says colored people again.

[Melenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read

[Rick Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with the Kiddo, who has been very interested in the history of the Civil Rights Movement.

This was a good overview of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom which took place on August 28, 1963, and included Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech.

While it's challenging to present all of the background needed to understand the Civil Rights Movement in a relatively small amount of pages, this book gives the important information, and then goes into excellent detail on the organization, logistics, and the events of the march itself.

Sidebars cover many of the important leaders of the movement, as well as key details about the time period.

When I read history books aimed at a younger audience, it's always nice to learn details that I didn't know, and this book did a good job of focusing in on how the day of the March happened. I felt like I learned some new facts and my son appreciated the additional context around what he already know about Martin Luther King Jr. the struggle for civil rights.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a number of these books but I think this may be my favorite. (At least in the top five!) I didn't know the details behind the March on Washington. It was so fascinating and inspiring what these men put together. I was deeply touched and found my eyes welling up on multiple occasions. It was such a powerful event at such a crucial moment in history. Nicely done!

The last page in the book:

"When people stand up and make up their minds to move and take action," said a twenty-year-old marcher, "it opens doors."

Today in the United States, people are still treated unfairly because of their gender or religion or the color of their skin. Every door that is opened meets with resistance.

But the doors open anyway.

[GailW · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series, having read several to this point. I was very young when all of this was going on. And I didn't read much about it until I was an adult. This book hit me as powerfully as when I read the other more "adult" books. Kids NEED to read these books, schools need to stop allowing them to be banned or even challenged - it's history repeating itself. This book has been challenged sometimes "due to concerns over its discussion of topics like critical race theory and Marxism." Marxism. In a book for middle grade. It's American History. That some people don't want to be taught. Let's at least make the banners and challengers be honest about their "why".

[Kayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this with my girls for MLK’s bday, and we had really good discussions. Why the low rating then? There’s a quote with the d-word and a page (with silhouetted drawing) about lynching; neither seemed appropriate for a book aimed at grade schoolers. I skipped both parts.

[Jayron]

“What Was The March On Washington ? “ by Kathleen Krull is an inspirational book teaches the importance of the March on Washington. This book teaches the impact it had on today as well as how it affected the path of the future. This short novel portrays the instrumental people as well the emotion and seriousness . This book is very detailed and even includes a timeline and pictures . As this book tells the story beginning to end it keeps the same amount of top intricacies throughout . I recommend this book for those interested in on historical event that changed the world .

[Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked Martin Luther King. As a kid, whos a third grader. This book taught me a lot about the civil rights movement and I enjoyed for my reading challenge. When my family visited to visit Williamsburg, Va and this book it started out in Jamestown, VA. My dad thought it would be a good book for me to read, and liked this book. It was very interesting and read easily. My dad said that this book will help education lesson kids need to know about. So he got it for me. I hope that he buys me more books like this.

[Tristen Carreon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The March on Washington was one of the greatest events in US History. Martin Luther King was a child when segregation was big thing in the US. When he got older he wanted to make a change, he wanted make things better, .... he had a dream. He made the biggest march in the entire world and made a change forever and made people equal.

[Juliefrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic introduction to the march, from the planning to the figures involved. I especially appreciated the fact that the author took the time to address small but significant points such as the lack of female speakers and the fact that this struggle is not over. We read this as we prepared my son to take part in a Black History Month Student Showcase at school, playing the part of an ally marching with his friends and demonstrating peaceful protest. It gave him important context and is a great start to the conversation about the civil rights movement.

[Gerardo Sicairos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "What Was the March on Washington" by Kathleen Krull is very emotional and mind blowing book.It will make you think about what it was like in the past and how people lived in those days.I recommend this book to people that want to learn about segregation in the south.It is a short but inspiring book.

[Justin Likens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book designed for younger readers that will help them understand the importance of the March, Dr. King, and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

[Shanna Darwish · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Was the March on Washington is from the informational text genre and it tells the story of the famous march for equal rights held on August 28, 1963. This book is from the well-known “What Was/Who Was” series that I have found to be very popular with my fourth-grade students. This was a “wow” book for me because it included facts I had not previously read about the march as well as 16 pages of images that help readers better comprehend what that day must have been like.

I would like to use this text in my classroom as a companion to The Watson’s Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. My students find the story of Kenny Watson and his family to be particularly interesting, and I feel that having increased background knowledge about the time period and the significant events that took place, would give them an even better understanding of the story.

This book would be a good choice for students in grades 3-7. The details about the Landmark Brown v. Board of Education Case, as well as descriptions of important civil-rights groups in the United States, make this book a very useful tool for introducing students to the civil rights movement. Pictures of civil rights protestors being hosed in Birmingham provides readers with a glimpse of the hardship faced by activists during that time. There are also images of children participating in the march which young students would likely be able to relate to. The book mentions well-known members of society being present for the march such as Jackie Robinson, Sidney Poitier, and Bob Dylan, and it provides students with inspiration to stand up for what they believe in no matter the difficulty they might face.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

“What was the March on Washington?” by Kathleen Krull is an informational/ non fiction book about the 1963 March on Washington to stop racism, segregation, and the Jim Crow laws. Before the 28th of August, colored people had to follow the rules which separated them from doing the stuff white people can do. It was unfair to the colored people because they didn’t get the equal respect that the white people got. So, on August 28th, 1963, Minister Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did a march in Washington, D.C to stop this catastrophe, and it was successful. I have strong feelings towards this book because the colored people had no respect at all in the 1960’s. It was unfair to see that white people had all the luxurious things and well paying jobs and colored people had to ride in the BACK OF THE BUS! I recommend this book to people who strongly agree that all people should be treated equally because this book has a lot to do with equality and treating people the same one another, and loving each other one another and if you don’t feel that way, then I recommend you don’t read this book. I do think that this is an okay book and I’ll even recommend this book to some of you people who have an interest in learning equal rights.

[Tyra · Rating 5 out of 5]

What was the March on Washington is a book about how black people had to fight for their rights, and how Marin Luther King helped to fight for black peoples rights. Back then lots of things were segregated like water fountains, restaurants, bus seating, jobs, lots of things until on day the black community got tired of it so they decided to march to get the rights they deserved. So Martin Luther King helped to make it happen, they marched and marched, were the scared of course they were they did no know if the were going to get arrested, or killed. So thanks to Martin Luther King everyone can go to they same school, and do they same thing.

What was the March on Washington is great book in my eyes it tells yo a lot about people rights and how things use to be before Martin Luther King came about, I told me a lot about how things were segregated and how black people were treated less than white people. It was wrong for people to judge people off the color of their skin they can not help the color they are. So Thank you Martin for making a change in our world.

[Jonathan]

The March on Washington was about how African American people were fighting for their rights. It showed how they struggled and were treated just to have equal rights. When everyone thought it was over, one man stood up and decided to rise above it all. His name was Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. He showed how one man can make a difference by standing up for what was right and changing the world forever.


I thought that the March on Washington was a great book. It was something that needed to be done. Now it was painful to see how African American people were treated, but I am glad that I was able to learn about it. I wish that Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. could have seen President Barack Obama who was our first African American President. I would give this book a BIG 9 out of 10. As hard as it was for me to see African American people mistreated for standing up for what was right, it showed how we must push forward in order to be successful in life.

[Erin Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a solid overview of the March on Washington, including short bios of important figures in organizing the March who i hadn't heard of before. Also covers the three year period after the March, including passage of important civil rights legislation and the assassinations of MLKJ and JFK. Not quite five stars for me as there are a few places where the book falls into standard tropes about racism as personal animosity (rather than systemic oppression), and where the end of the book talks vaguely about continued discrimination based on "gender, religion, and skin color". It would have been stronger if it had stayed focused on civil rights for Black Americans rather than ending with some vague statement about discrimination against various groups. Still, a solid resource. Will definitely be reading this to my kid when he's old enough.

[Hillary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. Straightforward and accessible to my fourth grade gang, but also doesn’t soften anything. It sticks to the truth of the topic at hand and in this case the March on Washington. My favorite part was the final lines: “Today in the United States, people are still treated unfairly because of their gender or religion or the color of their skin. Every door that is opened meets with resistance. But the door opens, anyway.” I so appreciate that the author didn’t summarize civil rights as all rosy and wrapped up neatly with a bow, as something behind us, but rather a fight and path we’re still on.

[Zarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book “ What Was the March on Washington” by Kathleen Krull is such an inspirational book. It’s all about how Martin Luther King Jr. planned out the march and how he would shares his opinion on civil rights. It also talks about his family and how he fought for his kids. So that his kids did not have to go through what he did as a child. It talks about all the events leading up to his tragic death. I loved this book because of how well it explains what really happened during this time in the world. I recommend this book to young readers 3-5th graders who really want to know about this event.

[Marion Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This nonfiction book is excellent for 3rd graders. This book talks all about what/how segregation was in the past, major people and events that lead to Black people received the equal opportunities and rights as Whites. This is an excellent book to have in the classroom library for kids to learn and understand why we celebrate/emphasize Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The teacher can also read pages to the students aloud to help the students to understand to be kind, fair, and equal to everyone.

[Hailey Walls · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is awesome for people who like reading about history and need visualizations. This specific book is about the March on Washington and what happened. It also tells you about major people in the civil rights movement. It talks about Peter,Paul, and Mary and famous band in the ‘60s, and many other people. If you’re interested in the March on Washington or are learning about in school I highly encourage you to read this book.

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very concise and informative volume about the famous March on Washington. Though I read at least one book each year to honor MLK about him and his life, I learned a number of things about the Civil Rights Movement, and the March that I didn't know before I read this book.

Written for students, and would be an excellent resource for a number of class projects. As an adult I found it a pleasure to read. It brought the spirit and emotions of this time in history to life.

[Devon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This chapter book gives an in depth look at the March on Washington and the events that led to it. The author includes details about the planning of the march and the historical figures that took part in it. Illustrations are sprinkled throughout the story and real pictures of the march are included as well. The author does a wonderful job of pointing out the necessity of the Civil Rights Movement and showing children that nonviolent protests can be successful.

[Alice]

I read what was the march on Washington by Kathleen Krull.

This book is mostly about how the march changed the world.The marcher went a route to the stands and assembled there.They started with the anthem then the speeches there were some BIG ones.

I loved what was the march on Washington it told us how it turned the world right again!It was also sad and happy at the same time.

I recommend this book to history lovers and people that is glad there is change.

[Sundee Perkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

The March on Washington is, probably, the most famous march for civil rights in American History. It is, of course, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his, "I Have A Dream" speech. But there was so much more that went on for the March on Washington to be successful. There was so much planning, and so many people involved, and I had never their stories before. I wish the history behind this march was more mainstream, because I really feel like people need to know it.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the books in this series mention Jim Crow laws and racial issues. This one must be the flagship.

We've come a long way but though racial bias is less blatant now--it's still there. I remember reading a sign in San Antonio, TX, in 1970, above a restaurant door stating "No dogs or ni...rs" allowed" (except they spelled it out and enforced it).