Bayard Rustin's Pocket Watch & Blank Paper

The March on Washington was a large-scale event in the works for months and months. Civil rights leaders worked hours on end to plan and organize this important event, which took place on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington DC Mall on August 28, 1963. On the morning of the event, there was some trepidation regarding turnout:

"A few hours later, the march's organizer, Bayard Rustin, wandered onto the Mall with some of his assistants to find security personnel and journalists outnumbering demonstrators. That morning a television news reporter in DC announced: 'Not many people seem to be showing up. It doesn't look as if it's going to be very much.' The movement had high hopes for a large turnout and had originally set a goal of 100,000. From the reservations on coaches and trains alone, they guessed they should be at least close to that figure. But when the actual morning came, that did little to calm their nerves. Reporters badgered Rustin about the ramifications for both the event and the movement if the crowd turned out to be smaller than anticipated. Rustin, forever theatrical, took a round pocket watch from his trousers and some paper from his jacket. Examining first the paper and then the watch, he turned to the reporters and said: 'Everything is right on schedule.' The piece of paper was blank." 

By the day's end, there were approximately 250,000 people in attendance for the monumental civil rights movement event which eventually led to the successful passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and later the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

-Excerpt from "The Speech: The Story Behind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream" by Gary Younge (2013).