The Pennsylvania State University

Protest is Power

Caroline Camp
ENG 137 Section 011
Professor Babcock
7 October 2018
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Artifact One: Families Belong Together March

Artifact Two: The March on Washington

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Fire hoses turned on peaceful protesters, black students blocked from attending

neighborhood schools, mob attacks on Freedom Riders: these tragic and violent headlines were

all too common in America in the years leading up to 1963. Although President Lincoln

abolished slavery a century before, institutionalized racism and systemic inequality still existed

and infiltrated every aspect of American society, particularly in the work force and economy as

tolerance for African-Americans among white Americans was dangerously low. Flash forward to

2018, tolerance for another group is extremely low, this time immigrants. Quite literally called

the zero-tolerance policy, on May 7, 2018, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, on behalf of the

Trump Administration, announced the protocol of referring all border crossings to federal

prosecution, resulting in the detainment of parents and children in separate facilities and tearing

apart families in the process (Horwitz and Sacchetti). To advocate for equal civil rights, on

August 28, 1963, around 250,000 people gathered around the Lincoln Memorial and participated

in the March on Washington. Examining the social and political climates of 1963 and 2018

allows for the drawing of parallels between two large scale responses to the existing injustices.

To call for an end to the inhumane family separation occurring at the border, on June 30, 2018 in

over 600 cities across the country, protesters took to the streets in the Families Belong Together

March. Despite occurring in two different time periods for two different ideologies, both

marches demonstrate the power of protest to give a voice to a movement. Protests such as March

on Washington and Families Belong Together incorporate appeals to kairos, pathos, and logos

into an extensive civic infrastructure to give a voice to a movement beyond just the underlying

ideology and truly call the nation to civic action.

The masterminds behind both protests capitalized on the kairos of the moment to

strengthen the appeals of their respective arguments. The March on Washington occurred in the
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wake of “the physical harm and brutality that front-line activists endured during the summer of

1963 – jailing, beatings and even murder” (“The March on Washington”). The horrific violence

towards African Americans demonstrated that, in 1963, already 100 years after the Emancipation

Proclamation, the harsh, everyday reality for many included “high levels of black

unemployment, work that offered most African Americans only minimal wages and poor job

mobility, systematic disenfranchisement of many African Americans, and the persistence of

racial segregation in the South” (“The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”). These

conditions prompted the need for immediate action; a march was essential for African Americans

as they could not continue to live in such a state of injustice. Likewise, the social and political

situation of America in 2018 called for a swift response in the form of the Families Belong

Together March. The United States government implemented a policy that actively tore children

from their parents, and in case that fact alone was not urgent enough, images of children in jail

like settings, the detention centers operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, flashed on

every major news platform and consumed social media feeds. Americans were called to action

by the urgency of such a tragic policy. Both of the situations were dire, and as such, both

marches had the sentiment of rising up and saying enough is enough. In present times,

Americans have tolerated hateful speech from the Trump Administration regarding immigration,

but family separation demands action now. Historically, African Americans had tolerated years

of inequality in their own country, but the economic inequality, lack of jobs, and racial violence

demanded action. The kairos of the time truly motivated the protesters and added strength and

passion to their movements.

Not only did the marches appeal to kairos by responding to an urgent situation in the

country, they both incorporated a strong appeal to pathos which, when coupled with the civic
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infrastructure, allowed them to give a voice to the ideology, making it increasingly human and

personal. Throughout the various notable speeches given at the March on Washington, the most

famous of which being Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream”, the speakers referenced

biblical passages and incorporated spiritual hymns, singing “we shall overcome, we shall

overcome, we shall overcome some day” (“Planning the March on Washington”). For those in

attendance, this connection to their faith added a level of intimacy and personal tie to the cause.

Furthermore, the physical location of the march itself, the Lincoln Memorial, evoked a sense of

nostalgia as it honors the very president who freed the slaves. This revered monument instilled a

feeling of hope for the future. Similarly, hope for the future rested near to the hearts of the

protesters marching for immigrant families as they envisioned the future of these children.

Children have the unique ability to evoke an intense emotional response as one imagines: what if

that was my child? Everyone can draw on a personal connection to a child that brings the issue

close to home. Describing this impact, US Representative Pramila Jayapal explains, ''the idea of

kids in cages and asylum seekers in prisons and moms being separated from breast-feeding

children, this is just beyond politics, it really is just about right and wrong,'' (Pramila Jayapal qtd.

in Yoon-Hnedricks and Greenberg). All other rhetorical appeals aside, emotions have enormous

power, and when appeals to pathos come into play with these two marches, they become

something bigger than themselves. Andrew Young explains “we suddenly realized that this

turned us from a Southern black movement into a national multiracial human rights, an

international multiracial human rights movement” (Fletcher) The movements took on a spirit and

life of their own that reflects the raw feelings of those involved. Consequently, the March on

Washington was not just a march for African-Americans, nor was March for Families just a

march for immigrants, they were marches for all Americans. With both marches, the appeals to
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pathos invite the public to fight for the shared enterprise of the American Dream and the ideals

of justice on which this country was founded. Through providing an emotional connection and

adding a layer of intimacy and personal attachments, the protesters made it harder for the public

to ignore their calls for justice. While Americans can boast their “land of the free” and “melting

pot”, the appeals to pathos acted as a call to action to live up to these ideals every moment of

every day.

Moving away from the emotional appeals that at times can be subjective and messy,

March on Washington and Families Belong Together appeal to logos by presenting a clear

ideology to avoid any confusion regarding what they stand for. To those consuming their

message, confusion is scary, so the organizers used the civic infrastructure to present a logical

argument in attempt to ensure nothing muddied the waters, consequently demoting the power of

the message. The March on Washington demanded meaningful legislation for fair living wage,

fair employment policies, and desegregation of school districts. The signs carried by the

protesters during the march clearly articulate these demands as they read “We March for Jobs

For All Now!” and “I.U.E For Full Employment!” Following through with these strategic goals,

“after the march, King and other civil rights leaders met with President Kennedy and Vice

President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House, where they discussed the need for bipartisan

support of civil rights legislation” (“March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” ). Similarly, in

2018, put quite simply into one succinct slogan, “Families Belong Together”, the organizers of

the march ensured there existed no doubts as to what they were marching for as they carried

signs displaying their slogan and posters reading “I Am A Child”. This message rings true

regardless of personal ideology regarding immigration, a highly contested and polarized topic in

American society. While some believe those who come here illegally deserve to be prosecuted,
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and others believe the United States needs a better system for facilitating immigration, the main

take away from the march did not concern the various ends of the ideological spectrum but rather

focused on the policy of ripping children from their parents. By presenting clear arguments and

facts, the marches used logos to their advantage. When confronted with logical demands, civic

action follows as the public realizes the demands are not far-fetched. It seems obvious that

African Americans deserve employment and children belong with their parents, but when society

is not functioning as such, a carefully crafted voice of a movement can be the catalyst for

change.

When being a white American means that civil rights issues do not significantly impact

their daily life, or immigration policy does not change their day-to-day in a sheltered,

homogeneous community, it is easy to watch news coverage of a march and quickly move on.

This is the harsh reality, and the exact issue the protests sought to rectify. By crafting a voice for

the ideologies of the March on Washington and Families Belong Together, the protesters put

their respective issues front and center, demanding attention. They demanded attention from the

public, the politicians in power, the oppressors as well as the oppressed. The appeals to kairos,

pathos, and logos ensure that, while it may not impact everyone’s daily life, it is on their radar

and commanding empathy. This empathy translates to civic action, specifically the impact of the

March on Washington can be seen in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting

Rights Act of 1965. This observable impact demonstrates the outcome of curating a voice for a

movement: positive steps in the right direction for racial equality. Contrastingly, the full effects

of the Families Belong Together March have yet to be realized as it is still a developing issue in

American politics, leaving society with many questions and few concrete answers. However,

President Trump did sign an executive order ending the practice of family separation. While the
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order upheld the “zero tolerance” policy, given the parallels between the March on Washington

and Families Belong Together March, one can assume additional positive change is on the

horizon because, as demonstrated by these two noteworthy marches, and fundamental to the

pursuit of liberty in a proclaimed free country, protest is powerful.

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Works Cited

Fletcher, Michael. “An Oral History of the March on Washington.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian

Institution.

Horwitz, Sari, and Maria Sacchetti. "Sessions Vows to Prosecute All Illegal

Border Crossers and Separate Children from Their Parents." The Washington

Post, 7 May 2018. Accessed 2 Oct. 2018.

“March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education

Institute, 28 Aug. 1963.

“Planning the March on Washington.” Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2016.

"The March on Washington." Library of Congress. Accessed 2 Oct.

2018.

Yoon-Hendricks, Alexandra, and Zoe Greenberg. "Nationwide Protests Call For an End to Migrant

Family Separations." New York Times, 1 July 2018, p. A19(L). Opposing Viewpoints in

Context.