PRAYER PILGRIMAGE

PRAYER PILGRIMAGE Held on the third anniversary of the historic Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Educa­tion, the Prayer Pilgrimage of May 17, 1957 was the largest civil rights demonstration to be held in Washington, D. C. follow­ing the second World War. Nearly fifteen-thousand "pilgrims" from more than thirty states gathered at the base of the Lincoln Memorial to hear a series of sermons, scriptural readings and speeches by civil rights leaders. The primary intent of the Pil­grimage was to dramatically demonstrate to the Government and to the American people at large the need for more rapid and effective implementation *of the Brown decision to integrate American public schools. In addition, the Pilgrimage was de­signed to demonstrate racial solidarity; protest against racial violence in the South; and to "lobby" for the passage of pending civil rights legislation (Civil Rights Act of 1957).