50^th Anniversary of the March on Washington: On Wednesday, President Obama spoke from the Lincoln Memorial at the “Let Freedom Ring” Ceremony, which commemorated the 50^th anniversary of the March on Washington. President Obama was joined by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, along with members of the King family, civil rights leaders and other dignitaries. Thousands converged from across the country to join in this historic event. In his remarks, President Obama honored the heroes that marched in 1963, but stressed that while the nation has come far in the past fifty years, there is still work to be done.

But we would dishonor those heroes as well to suggest that the work of this nation is somehow complete. The arc of the moral universe may bend towards justice, but it doesn’t bend on its own. To secure the gains this country has made requires constant vigilance, not complacency.

In recognition of the historic March on Washington, Administration officials wrote blog posts reflecting what the civil rights movement meant for the country, the urgency of continuing that march, and what lies ahead.

For more information, check out six videos that capture our favorite moments of the President with icons of the Civil Rights Movement.

“The Powerbroker” Screening: A day before the President spoke at the Lincoln Memorial, First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a screening of “The Powerbroker: Whitney Young’s Fight for Civil Rights,” a documentary detailing the life and achievements of the civil rights leader. The First Lady also spoke to a group of students who attended the screening.

The thing I want you all to remember, as you watch this film, is that we are here because of that struggle.  I'm here because of that struggle. And even though you may think you have some struggles, your paths are a whole lot easier because of the work these men and women did.

President Barack Obama, with Vice President Joe Biden, delivers a statement to the press before meeting with Baltic Leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Aug. 30, 2013. The meeting included, from left, Latvia President Andris Běrzinš, Estonia President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, and Lithuania President Dalia Grybauskaite. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)

Today, President Obama hosted Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, and Latvian President Andris Bērziņš for a meeting at the White House.

The visit underscored the close ties between the United States and the Baltic states, which are grounded in our shared values, ideals, and interests.  The leaders highlighted ongoing cooperation on issues including defense and security, trade and investment, energy and the environment, and global development.

Ed. note: This is crossposted from Work in Progress, the official blog of the Department of Labor. See the original post here.  Learn more about the history of Labor Day, and the history of the U.S. Department of Labor. 

Labor Day 2013 is special. This year marks the centennial of the U.S. Department of Labor – 100 years of working for America’s workers. And this past week, our nation reaffirmed the ideals of the 1963 March on Washington. This transformational event, exactly 50 years ago, was just as much about labor rights as it was about civil rights.

For me, just like so many others then and now, these two movements are inextricably intertwined, their interests converging time and time again, their goals united in creating opportunity for all.

Watch this video on YouTube

For a guy like me who grew up in an immigrant family from Buffalo, the past few days have been pretty heady. At the Lincoln Memorial Wednesday, I couldn’t help but wonder if The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. ever imagined that half a century after he stood on these steps, another African-American man would stand there – as president?

For a moment, I celebrated how far we have come. And then I remembered that we also have a long journey still to complete.

I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on at the Labor Department 50 years ago. What was my predecessor doing and thinking, as the March on Washington began right outside his office windows, and on the eve of Labor Day 1963?

Well, it turns out, President Kennedy’s labor secretary, Willard Wirtz, was in the thick of it. Immediately after the march, Wirtz joined Kennedy and Vice President Johnson at an Oval Office meeting with Dr. King and other march leaders. A few days later, over Labor Day weekend, Wirtz was asked on a Sunday news talk show what was “most urgently on the minds” of the marchers. He replied: “Equality of opportunity in general, but the necessity particularly of equality of opportunity for work.”

Opportunity. Then and now, it’s about opportunity.

Today the Bureau of Economic Analysis revised up its estimate of second quarter GDP from 1.7 percent to 2.5 percent. This stronger estimate of growth was a result of an upward revision in net exports, with the trade data showing that a key part of the revision is because the trade deficit in petroleum fell to a record low in June. This is yet another reminder that the President’s focus on increasing America’s energy independence is not just a critical national security strategy, it is also part of an economic plan to create jobs, expand growth and cut the trade deficit.

The President established a national goal in 2011 to reduce oil imports by one third by 2020 and elevated the goal in 2012 to reduce them by one half by 2020. We are currently on track to meet this ambitious goal if we continue to follow through on the policies that are critical to achieving it.

Vice President Joe Biden ceremonially swears in Todd Jones as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in the Roosevelt Room in the White House, Aug. 29, 2013. Also pictured are Jones' wife Margaret and son Anthony. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Even as Congress fails to act on common-sense proposals to reduce gun violence, like expanding criminal background checks and making gun trafficking a federal crime, President Obama and Vice President Biden remain committed to using all the tools in their power to make our communities safer.

Today, as part of that commitment, Vice President Biden swore in B. Todd Jones as the first permanent Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in seven years.  As the Vice President said, “ATF is the key agency enforcing our gun laws, and they need a permanent director in order to do that and to do the job to the best of their ability.” The Vice President was joined by Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney General Jim Cole. 

The Vice President also announced two new executive actions, building on the comprehensive gun violence reduction plan he and the President laid out on January 16, 2013.

First, ATF is closing a loophole that has allowed machine guns and other particularly dangerous weapons to get into the wrong hands. This loophole allows prospective buyers to license these weapons to shell corporations, which lets them bypass a required background check.  ATF is proposing a rule to change that, requiring anyone associated with those corporations to go through the very same kind of background check process.  Closing this loophole will make a difference—last year alone, there were more than 39,000 requests for transfers of these restricted firearms to trusts or corporations.

First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks at a screening of "The Powerbroker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rights," in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building South Court Auditorium, Aug. 27, 2013. Mrs. Obama was introduced by Whitney Young's niece Bonnie Boswell, left, who wrote and produced the documentary. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)

A day before celebrating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, the First Lady invited local students to the White House to watch “The Powerbroker: Whitney Young’s Fight for Civil Rights,” a film that chronicles the life and legacy of the civil rights leader.

"What this documentary shows us is that there are so many unsung heroes in our history whose impact we still feel today," said Mrs. Obama. During her remarks, the First Lady shared one of her favorite quotes by Young:

It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one, than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.

"How are you going to be the agents of change for the next generation?" the First Lady asked. "We’re counting on you all to be ready to take the helm and be the next agents of change, because there is still a lot of work to do."

The First Lady has a personal connection to the civil rights leader. In 1981, Michelle Robinson graduated from the Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago. Take a look some archival photos from the First Lady's time at Whitney Young High School:

Photos courtesy of Whitney M. Young Magnet High School.

President Barack Obama meets with Ambassador Donald Booth, Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, in the Oval Office, Aug. 28, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Today, President Obama appointed Ambassador Donald Booth as the new U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan.  A former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, Zambia, and Liberia, Ambassador Booth is one of our most experienced diplomats and has extensive experience promoting peace and prosperity across the African continent.  He is seasoned, determined, and deeply committed to pursuing peace between and within Sudan and South Sudan.

Ambassador Booth joins our Sudan and South Sudan team at a critical time.  Working closely with the African Union and our other international partners, he will play a vital role in urging Sudan and South Sudan to make progress on resolving outstanding issues, including the status of the disputed region of Abyei.  He will continue U.S. efforts to press for a peaceful and definitive end to the conflicts in Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile as part of a holistic solution to Sudan’s human rights, humanitarian, and governance crises.  And he will urge South Sudan to stay focused on protecting its people, meeting their needs, and realizing their aspirations for a more peaceful, prosperous, and democratic future. 

Ed. note: This is part of a series of blog posts written by Administration officials in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington. Read more here.

As we reflect on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, much has been said about what has changed in fifty years – and what has not changed enough. As Congressman John Lewis reminded us – at both the 1963 and 2013 marches - we have work to do on voting rights, on jobs, on equality of opportunity in this country.  

He’s right about that, and about another thing: he used part of his brief speech to call out the need to pass an immigration reform measure, to “bring [immigrants] out into the light and set them on a path to citizenship.”

In saying those powerful words, he places the immigration issue squarely in a civil rights frame, which is right where it was 50 years ago, as Congress took up a series of civil rights proposals under President Johnson’s leadership: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. This latter bill dramatically changed the way that immigrants were admitted to the United States, undoing a policy which allocated visas according to notions of racial superiority. You heard that right: for most of the 20th century, our immigration laws were based on the “racial” notion that some Europeans were superior to others. Think about what that meant to the rest of us. 

As Johnson pointed out in signing the act, under the old system, “…only three countries were allowed to supply 70 percent of all the immigrants. Families were kept apart because a husband or a wife or a child had been born in the wrong place. Men of needed skill and talent were denied entrance because they came from southern or eastern Europe or from one of the developing continents.” Signing that bill into law was viewed at the time – correctly – as one of the great accomplishments for civil rights in America.

President Barack Obama applauds Staff Sergeant Ty M. Carter, U.S. Army, after presenting him with the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Aug. 26, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Today, President Obama presented the Medal of Honor to Army Staff Sgt. Ty M. Carter.

For this is a historic day -- the first time in nearly half a century, since the Vietnam War, that we’ve been able to present the Medal of Honor to two survivors of the same battle. Indeed, when we paid tribute to Clint Romesha earlier this year, we recalled how he and his team provided the cover that allowed three wounded Americans -- pinned down in a Humvee -- to make their escape.  The Medal we present today, the soldier that we honor -- Ty Carter -- is the story of what happened in that Humvee. It’s the story of what our troops do for each other.

Carter was one of 53 American soldiers who woke up the morning of October 9, 2009 as the outpost where they were stationed -- one of the most remote and vulnerable in Afghanistan – came under attack by more than 300 Taliban fighters.

President Obama told the story of Carter's actions in battle that day, which he called the "essence of true heroism – ‘not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.’”

Ty jumped out of bed, put on his boots and his helmet and his Kevlar vest, grabbed some ammo and he ran -- into bullets coming down like rain, for a hundred meters -- to resupply his comrades out in that Humvee.  When they needed more, he ran back, blasted the locks off supply rooms and sprinted yet again -- dodging explosions, darting between craters -- back to the Humvee. 

The ferocious fire forced them inside.  And so it was that five American soldiers -- including Ty and Specialist Stephan Mace -- found themselves trapped in that Humvee, the tires flat, RPGs pouring in, peppering them with shrapnel, threatening to break through the armor of their vehicle.  And, worst of all, Taliban fighters were penetrating the camp.  The choice, it seemed, was simple -- stay and die, or make a run for it.  

So once more, Ty stepped out into the barrage, and along with Sergeant Brad Larson, he laid down fire, providing cover for the other three -- including Stephan -- as they dashed for safety.  But in those hellish moments, one man went down, and then another.  And Stephan disappeared into the dust and smoke.