African Americana

8 3/8 x 3 1/2 in. printed certificate (minor toning to margins, light edge and corner wear). Presented on 17 May 1957, the third anniversary of the US Supreme Court decision declaring racial segregation to be unconstitutional, the certificate is ink inscribed to Mrs. Elizabeth Byrd for attending and contributing to the success of the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom, "held at Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, to arouse the conscience of the Nation to the urgent need to move 'with all deliberate speed' toward the implementation of that historic ruling and, in the spirit of non-violence, to work for the elimination of racial discrimination and segregation." With facsimile signatures of A. Philip Randolph, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Roy Wilkins. 

The Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom was organized by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin with the support of the NAACP and the newly formed Southern Leaders Conference (later known as the Southern Christian Leadership Coalition). Approximately 25,000 demonstrators attended the event at the Lincoln Memorial to commemorate the third anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling and to urge the Eisenhower administration to push for Brown v. Board of Education's school integration. Martin Luther King was the keynote speaker at the demonstration, delivering his first address to a national audience. He presented the "Give Us The Ballot" speech, in which he advocated for voting rights for African Americans. At the time that the march occurred in May 1957, it was recognized as the largest organized demonstration for Civil Rights.