2010.08.29: August 29, 2010: Gene and Susan Paslov were in a Peace Corps training program at Georgetown University during the summer of '63 and had read about the proposed March on Washington, but were told not to participate because the Peace Corps officials (including Sargent Shriver, Peace Corps director, and President Kennedy) thought there might be violence with such large crowds
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2010.08.29: August 29, 2010: Gene and Susan Paslov were in a Peace Corps training program at Georgetown University during the summer of '63 and had read about the proposed March on Washington, but were told not to participate because the Peace Corps officials (including Sargent Shriver, Peace Corps director, and President Kennedy) thought there might be violence with such large crowds
Gene and Susan Paslov were in a Peace Corps training program at Georgetown University during the summer of '63 and had read about the proposed March on Washington, but were told not to participate because the Peace Corps officials (including Sargent Shriver, Peace Corps director, and President Kennedy) thought there might be violence with such large crowds
The crowd was amazing. We had never seen so many people in one place - official estimates of 200,000 African-Americans and 50,000 whites were probably low. Men, women and children of all races, sometimes holding hands, sometimes singing together. filled the area between the two monuments with harmonious sounds. It was a sea of humanity that had a calming effect on a nation caught in the midst of racial turmoil. The sight and sounds were spectacular on that day in August of 1963.
Gene and Susan Paslov were in a Peace Corps training program at Georgetown University during the summer of '63 and had read about the proposed March on Washington, but were told not to participate because the Peace Corps officials (including Sargent Shriver, Peace Corps director, and President Kennedy) thought there might be violence with such large crowds
Eugene T. Paslov: 47 years ago today, Rev. King gave us all hope for a better America
By Dr. Eugene T. Paslov
Copyright 2011 Nevada Appeal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. August, 27 2010 11:17 pm
Eugene T. Paslov: 47 years ago today, Rev. King gave us all hope for a better America
Nevada Appeal
On Aug. 28, 1963, my wife Susan and I were standing on the Mall, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. It was sweltering; the heat oppressive. But the gentle sway of 250,000 people, spread out on both sides of the reflecting pool as far as the eye could see, gave a sense of calm.
Susan and I made our way to the speakers' platform by the Lincoln Memorial and found some shade among those holding CIO and AF of L signs. We waited for the speakers.
The crowd was amazing. We had never seen so many people in one place - official estimates of 200,000 African-Americans and 50,000 whites were probably low. Men, women and children of all races, sometimes holding hands, sometimes singing together. filled the area between the two monuments with harmonious sounds. It was a sea of humanity that had a calming effect on a nation caught in the midst of racial turmoil. The sight and sounds were spectacular on that day in August of 1963.
Susan and I were in a Peace Corps training program at Georgetown University during the summer of '63. We had read about the proposed March on Washington, but were told that we were not to participate because the Peace Corps officials (including Sargent Shriver, Peace Corps director, and President Kennedy) thought there might be violence with such large crowds. Troops were standing by just outside the city, but were never needed. We ignored the directive, and joined the march. There was no violence, only mutual respect.
The popular folk singers Peter, Paul and Mary were in the crowd that day and performed the Bob Dylan song, "Blowin' in the Wind." This song became the anthem for the Civil Rights movement.
Toward early evening the keynote speaker, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., began his address. He mesmerized the crowd. Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children stood in rapt anticipation. The Rev. King immediately caught the crowd's attention: "I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream. I have a dream that one day this nation shall rise up and live out the true meaning of the creed: We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal."
On Aug. 28, 1963 - 47 years ago today - the sonorous voice of this black minister from Georgia spread out a giant blanket of hope for the huge crowd. We were all comforted. The words of that speech still comfort a nation attempting to get beyond racial discrimination. Listen.
• Eugene Paslov is a board member of the Davidson Academy at the University of Nevada, Reno and the former Nevada state superintendent of schools.
Eugene T. Paslov started his education career in 1959 as a high school English teacher. In 1963 Gene Paslov joined the Peace Corps as a volunteer and taught English as a foreign language in Ankara, Turkey for two years. Gene completed a MA from California State University, Long Beach in 1967, a ME.D and Ed.D in public policy and political science in 1970 and 1972, respectively from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. Gene Paslov has served as State Superintendent of Public Instruction in Michigan and Nevada for a total of eleven years. He also spent a total of 14 years in the Michigan State Department serving in all management levels of the 2500 FTE agency. Gene has served as the Executive Director of a nonprofit Research and Development firm (New Standards Project) in Washington, D.C. where he was instrumental in overseeing the development of national academic standards and performance assessments. Paslov spent the last three years of his forty-five-year career as the President of Harcourt Educational Measurement, a Harcourt Assessment Company. He retired from the Nevada State Department of Education in 1995 and he again retired from Harcourt Assessment in 2002, but continues to do national and international consulting on public education policy and education leadership issues.
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When this story was posted in April 2011, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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| Peace Corps: The Next Fifty Years As we move into the Peace Corps' second fifty years, what single improvement would most benefit the mission of the Peace Corps? Read our op-ed about the creation of a private charitable non-profit corporation, independent of the US government, whose focus would be to provide support and funding for third goal activities. Returned Volunteers need President Obama to support the enabling legislation, already written and vetted, to create the Peace Corps Foundation. RPCVs will do the rest. |
| How Volunteers Remember Sarge As the Peace Corps' Founding Director Sargent Shriver laid the foundations for the most lasting accomplishment of the Kennedy presidency. Shriver spoke to returned volunteers at the Peace Vigil at Lincoln Memorial in September, 2001 for the Peace Corps 40th. "The challenge I believe is simple - simple to express but difficult to fulfill. That challenge is expressed in these words: PCV's - stay as you are. Be servants of peace. Work at home as you have worked abroad. Humbly, persistently, intelligently. Weep with those who are sorrowful, Care for those who are sick. Serve your wives, serve your husbands, serve your families, serve your neighbors, serve your cities, serve the poor, join others who also serve," said Shriver. "Serve, Serve, Serve. That's the answer, that's the objective, that's the challenge." |
| Memo to Incoming Director Williams PCOL has asked five prominent RPCVs and Staff to write a memo on the most important issues facing the Peace Corps today. Issues raised include the independence of the Peace Corps, political appointments at the agency, revitalizing the five-year rule, lowering the ET rate, empowering volunteers, removing financial barriers to service, increasing the agency's budget, reducing costs, and making the Peace Corps bureaucracy more efficient and responsive. Latest: Greetings from Director Williams |
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