More Than a Dream: Part Three

by Yohuru Williams, Michael G. Long
In this nonfiction account, the authors present their research on the causes and contributions that led to the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. prod
    a pointed instrument used to provoke into motion
    In June, state troopers had wielded nightsticks and electrical cattle prods in a vicious assault on protesters at the Gadsden courthouse.
  2. banter
    light teasing repartee
    When a white man in a pickup truck pulled over, the teens squeezed together in the front seat, ready for some friendly banter.
  3. effigy
    a representation of a person
    But then the friends saw something that sent shivers up and down their spines—an effigy, or dummy, of a Black person hanging on a light pole outside a gas station.
  4. gruesome
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    The scene served as a gruesome warning to Black people thinking about stopping for gas or a restroom break. It also reminded the teens that they would be marching not only for jobs and freedom, but also for their very lives.
  5. initiative
    readiness to embark on bold new ventures
    Their initiative and bravery impressed him, so he arranged for them to spend the night at the YMCA and told them to meet him at march headquarters the following day.
  6. pandemonium
    a state of extreme confusion and disorder
    It was a little before 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 27, and about sixteen hundred people waited to board two trains bound for the march. The scene was “nothing short of pandemonium,” a reporter observed.
  7. throng
    a large gathering of people
    Timuel Black, a co-chair of the local march committee, beamed as he stood among the throngs of travelers.
  8. grassroots
    of or involving the common people rather than those in power
    “This overwhelming response is a clear indication of the intensity of the grassroots revolt that is taking place in the Negro community,” he declared.
  9. fellowship
    an association of people who share beliefs or activities
    The communal spirit on the train also encouraged her. “If every white man and woman in America would get on this train and see the good fellowship, he’d either have a stroke or he might have a change of heart.”
  10. steep
    greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation
    A roundtrip ticket, plus three meals, cost $31.80. Finding that money was a steep challenge for many.
  11. swanky
    impressively fashionable and elegant
    Around this same time, Attorney General Robert Kennedy—the president’s younger brother—was at an exclusive dinner party in Georgetown, a swanky and largely white neighborhood in Washington, DC.
  12. surly
    unfriendly and inclined toward anger or irritation
    The attorney general was in a surly mood, and there was no doubt that the march was the source of his surliness.
  13. provocative
    serving or tending to excite or stimulate
    One of the protest signs read, “The Justice Department Is a White Man.” The provocative message suggested that the DOJ was far from a bastion of justice; that just like unlawful white segregationists, it was bigoted toward Black people.
  14. bastion
    a group that defends a principle
    The provocative message suggested that the DOJ was far from a bastion of justice; that just like unlawful white segregationists, it was bigoted toward Black people.
  15. bigoted
    blindly and obstinately attached to some creed or opinion
    The provocative message suggested that the DOJ was far from a bastion of justice; that just like unlawful white segregationists, it was bigoted toward Black people.
  16. seditious
    in opposition to a civil authority or government
    They also beat and arrested three SNCC activists, charging them with seditious conspiracy.
  17. bludgeon
    strike with a club
    But before any response could be given, the officers started bludgeoning groups of boys and girls with clubs and cattle prodders, which give a severe shock and leave burn marks on the flesh.
  18. affidavit
    written declaration made under oath
    “It must have been the cops that the FBI chose to believe,” a SNCC leader said later. “For, despite a mountain of evidence like those affidavits, the Justice Department managed to announce on August 12 that it had uncovered ‘no evidence of police brutality.’”
  19. indictment
    a formal document charging a person with some offense
    The demonstrators claimed that their protest was about racial inequality at the store, not about the owner’s jury service, but DOJ investigators didn’t believe them, so they pursued federal indictments of the nine Black activists.
  20. incensed
    angered at something unjust or wrong
    It was the first time in the 1960s that the DOJ targeted Black civil rights activists for federal prosecution—and SNCC was incensed.
  21. expediency
    the quality of being suited to the end in view
    Two days earlier, Malcolm had appeared on CBS-TV and repeated his claim that the march had “been taken over by the government…is being controlled by the government and is being used for political expediency.”
  22. fiasco
    a complete failure or collapse
    He also called the march a “fiasco” and predicted that “an explosion” would occur if spectators lost patience with being “pushed around” by the marchers.
  23. invocation
    a prayer asking God's help as part of a religious service
    Somehow, a copy ended up in the hands of Archbishop Patrick O’Boyle, the white Catholic leader of Washington, DC, who was scheduled to deliver the invocation, or opening prayer, at the march.
  24. disparage
    express a negative opinion of
    Even before Rustin’s call, Lewis understood that moderates, especially friends and confidants of President Kennedy, like O’Boyle and Walter Reuther, would find plenty of material in his speech to disparage.
  25. conscience
    motivation deriving from ethical or moral principles
    After all, Lewis planned to say: “In good conscience, we cannot support wholeheartedly the administration’s civil rights bill, for it is too little and too late. There is not one thing in the bill that will protect our people from police brutality.”
  26. extol
    praise, glorify, or honor
    Lewis understood that Catholics had long extolled patience as a virtue for believers hoping for the end of times.
  27. liberal
    a person who favors a philosophy of progress and reform
    The march, he believed, wasn’t about raising awareness, especially among white liberals like Brookway.
  28. resigned
    accepting that something unpleasant cannot be changed
    Captain Johnson seemed less annoyed than resigned, especially about the civil rights bill now stalled in Congress.
  29. patronize
    treat condescendingly
    We don’t need any white liberals to patronize us!
  30. din
    a loud, harsh, or strident noise
    “We don’t trust you!” another voice yelled above the din of the bus engine.
Created on Sat Oct 21 11:13:58 EDT 2023 (updated Tue Oct 24 16:15:26 EDT 2023)

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