Fifty-seven years ago today, on June 25, 1968 (May 30, 1968), American 50,000 held a march for the poor. Marchers in the Reflection Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial On June 25, 1968, 50,000 Americans petitioned to escape poverty and eliminate racial discrimination. They marched for a mile in the heat of Washington, D.C. At first, the marchers obeyed the wishes of Bishop Ralph Abernathy and other march organizers and kept the peace. Abernathy condemned violence as a means of revenge. He declared to the crowd that the U.S. government believes in force, and that those who believe in violence should join the military and live up to that creed. But Ralph Abernathy relied on moral strength. However, by the end of the week. Hundreds of people stranded in the humble wooden housing complex known as the "Resurrection City" became angry, and the barbaric act disrupted the previous peaceful assembly. The army moved in and arrested Abernathy. On the 25th, the bishop "did not contest" the charges of illegal assembly. Either way, the leaders of the march believed that the masses living in abject poverty and deeply racially discriminated would eventually see the light.