March on Washington, August 1963, by David Good
From MemoryArchive
Who: David Good What: March on Washington When: August 1963 Where: Washington, DCDuring the summer weekend of the March on Washington in August of 1963, I and a friend were driving back home to Pennsylvania from Florida. We were aware of the thousands of people traveling to Washington, DC to protest in the civil rights movement. We were both only in high school but knew of the significance and conflicting emotions generated among the races over these protests. We had been on Route 95 going north through South Carolina when we talked about possibly stopping in DC to see what was happening. We were aware of the national attention but had no real sense of the historical implications. We also had no idea we would be touched by those emotions when we pulled off the interstate to get gas.
Almost immediately upon exiting the off ramp to search for a gas station we noticed a police car pull out behind us. For a couple of 16 year olds on their first trip without adults along, this was enough to make us anxious. When we realized the police car had followed us into the gas station we became very concerned, we didn’t think we had done anything wrong. Before we could get out of the car to pump gas the officer approached the car. He came up on the drivers side and in a very intimidating manner said, “Where you all going Pennsylvania?” After we explained we just needed gas and were headed home he said he hoped so and hoped that we weren’t some of those protesters out to cause trouble. He said we should get our gas and get straight back on the highway and out of his state. We were more than a bit frightened and this quickly escalated when we realized the state trooper was following us. He continued to follow us onto the interstate and maintained a very close distance to our car. He stayed with us until the next exit when he pulled away and got off the highway, leaving us frightened but relieved. The idea to stop in DC never came up again between us all the way home. It would be hard to say how we might have been impacted by the event in DC had we gone, but it’s difficult to imagine any greater impact on how this encounter effected us both and forever marked the history that followed with our own personal experience with the hatred of prejudice.
