Before the 1963 March on Washington a group of African American women stormed the gates of the capital demanding that the state, society, and public servants acknowledge black women’s humanity and suffering. On September 29, 1951, the Sojourners for Truth and Justice, issued “A Call to Negro Women” for African American women to descend on Washington D.C. to “demand of the President, the Justice Department, and the Congress the absolute immediate and unconditional redress of grievances.” The Sojourners planned to meet with the President, the Secretary of State, the Justice Department and the Attorney General.
Their march proved productive. Participants met with the Attorney General and representatives from the Department of Justice and the War Department. The delegation also held a silent vigil on the White House lawn to protest President Truman’s refusal to meet with them. By the close of their journey, participants proclaimed that their Washington protest was “the most inspiring experience in their lives, and that [the Sojourners] must not lose momentum in the movement but must fan out to every corner of the country to arouse Negro women of the United States.” The Sojourners membership roll read like a Who’s Who of black women activists. Members included well-known Communist Party leaders like Louise Thompson Patterson, Claudia Jones, Audley Moore, and Esther Cooper Jackson. Burgeoning playwrights and authors like Lorraine Hansberry and Alice Childress were members of the group. Shirley Dubois, wife of W.E.B. Du Bois, and Mary Church Terrell also joined the delegation.