Short #ShakeRace reminder of the "Shakespeareans" who were key to organizing the original #MarchOnWashington 1/7

A. Philip Randolph & Lucille Greene helped found the "Friends of #Shakespeare." She was ill in the days leading up to the March: he would spend evenings reading the news & reciting Shakespeare. Bayard Rustin's friends recall his lively discussions of Shax. 2/7

Haven't had time to comb through Rustin archives, but his talk "In Apprehension, How Like a God!" uses this key line from *Hamlet* as a touchstone in articulating his philosophy of non violence to a Quaker group. 3/7

A gifted tenor, Rustin evidently had a bit part in a short-lived Robeson musical-- did they get a chance to talk #Shakespeare? 4/7

Behind the scenes at the #MarchOnWashington is Clarence Jones, Martin Luther King Jr's legal advisor who also worked with MLK on talking points, including for the "I have A Dream" speech. 5/7

Evidence of his #Shakespeare in this earlier tweet. https://twitter.com/ProfKFH/status/1012310186495807493?s=20 6 /7

How many more carried their own histories with #Shakespeare as they organized their own travels to the #MarchOnWashington demand that the US "make real the promises of democracy"? What Shakespeare did they braid into their freedom dreams? 7/7