Tonight PBS Commemorates The 50th Anniversary Of The March On Washington With A New Documentary

Tune in at 9 p.m. (check local listings) for a one hour special, The March narrated by Denzel Washington.  PBS is marking this special occasion not only with this documentary, but a series of online events and discussions throughout the week.   Some say it's an event that forever changed the course of civil rights in America.

The 1963 March on Washington was a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement. More than 250,000 people joined in peaceful demonstration for racial and economic equality. Their clarion call helped usher in sweeping civil rights legislation and a sea change in public opinion, and the event endures today as a symbol of unity and monumental impact.

Witness the compelling and dramatic story of the 1963 March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his stirring "I Have a Dream” speech. This watershed event in the Civil Rights Movement helped change the face of America. The film reveals the dramatic story behind the event through the remembrances of key players such as Jack O’Dell, Clarence B. Jones, Julian Bond and Andrew Young. Supporters and other testimonials of the March include Harry Belafonte, Diahann Carroll, Roger Mudd, Peter Yarrow and Oprah Winfrey, in addition to historians, journalists, authors and ordinary citizens who joined some 250,000 Americans who thronged to the capital on that momentous day to peacefully demand an end to two centuries of discrimination and injustice. Other notable figures featured in the film include Clayborn Carson, Andrew Young, Clarence Jones, Edith Lee Payne, Roger Mudd, Julian Bond, Joyce Ladner, Rachell Horowitz and Peter Yarrow.