Scranton residents at the March on Washington | 1963

Posted on by Jake Wynn

The leader of the Scranton, PA chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) led a group of about 30 people from Northeastern Pennsylvania to Washington, DC for the “March for Jobs and Freedom” on August 28, 1963.

Black and white photo of Martin Luther King Jr. delivering a speech to a large crowd at the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington, with the Washington Monument visible in the background.
Martin Luther King, Jr. at the March on Washington

The event is where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Listen to the speech in full below.

Earyle Speight Bergen gave an interview to the Scranton Times newspaper after the group had returned from the nation’s capital during one of the most pivotal moments in the Civil Rights Movement.

A large crowd gathered at the Lincoln Memorial with people sitting and standing in front of the iconic structure, surrounded by trees and a clear sky.
A photograph of the crowd and speakers at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963

City NAACP Aide on March: ‘This is America”

“So many people said they got the feeling: This is America.’”

That was the impression the giant “Jobs and Freedom March” yesterday in Washington, D.C., left on Mrs. Clarence Bergen, chairman of the Scranton Chapter, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

“I don’t know what we were really expecting,” she admitted. “Some of us went with the subconscious fear there would be violence or trouble of some nature. But we were very proud. People were singing, laughing, and joking, yet they weren’t boisterous. We marched almost a mile from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, but everyone said it didn’t seem so far.”

Mrs. Bergen traveled to the demonstration with about 30 others from the Scranton area on a bus chartered by the NAACP. They left shortly before dawn and returned to this city about 11:30PM.

Black and white portrait of a woman with short hair, wearing a patterned jacket and scarf, smiling softly at the camera.
Scranton NAACP chapter leader Earyle Speight Bergen in 1968

A bus carrying a delegation from the International Ladies Garment Workers Union also returned from the march late last night.

“The whole thing was overwhelming. People were so courteous and kind. We had 10 or 12 college-age youths on our bus, and I think one of the main things the march accomplished was to inspire young people. It’s the young people who keep things alive,” the NAACP leader said.

Mrs. Bergen said she saw Rabbi Milton Richman of the Madison Avenue Temple in the crowd.

“He was vacationing in Cincinnati and flew to Washington for the day,” she said.

“It wasn’t just Negroes at the March. I remember seeing so many white people helping little Negro children along the way. There were a great many clergymen there also. We haven’t been hoodwinked,” she added. “We know we haven’t changed some of the Southern senators, for example. But we hope we made an impression on those whose minds were not fully made up.”

A young girl holding a flag that reads 'MARCH FOR JOBS' while looking directly at the camera, surrounded by a crowd.
A young girl photographed at the March on Washington in August 1963

Read more about Black History in the Coal Region

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A powerful editorial from Pottsville’s black community | 1940

Frederick Douglass in Scranton, PA | November 1867

Podcast | “Destination Freedom” with Public Historian EJ Murphy

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2 thoughts on “Scranton residents at the March on Washington | 1963”

  1. Very interesting. I just saw the Danny Lyon photo exhibit of his Civil Rights photographs (MLK, John Lewis, others) in the gallery at Misericordia University. If people are in the area, it’s well-worth the visit.

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