There is no shortage of footage immortalizing the men who spoke at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, when 250,000 Americans gathered beneath the Lincoln Memorial to call for an end to segregation.

There were reverends and rabbis, activists and Rat-Pack icons—and of course the day's headliner, whose prophetic dream of a post-Jim Crow world has forever defined the Civil Rights Movement. But there is no “class photo” of the Black women who helped organize the march, performed on its main stage, or were honored during its “Tribute to Negro Women Fighters for Freedom.”⁠ ⁠ In How Bright the Path Grows, Marcia Chatelain weaves a gleaming group portrait of these singular women.⁠ ⁠ Charis and the Auburn Avenue Research Library (@aarl_atl) welcome Marcia Chatelain (@drmchatelain) in conversation with Sherie M. Randolph for a celebration of How Bright the Path Grows: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the March on Washington. From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Franchise comes the little-known story of the pioneering Black women artists and activists who were seen, but barely heard, at the 1963 March on Washington.⁠ ⁠ This event is in-person at the Auburn Avenue Research Library. Please register at the link below:⁠ https://charisbooksandmore.com/event/2026-09-30/how-bright-path-grows-untold-story-women-who-made-march-washington-marcia