Standing Up

Topic Sentence I never much liked crowds, but I always liked trees. That's why I wasn't thrilled when my mother woke me up before dawn, told me to put on my Sunday dress and shoes, and walked me seven miles to join a million other people on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Body Sentences She said that what we were doing was important because we were standing up for our rights. As I sweated in the hot sun, surrounded by strangers, I felt like I was just standing up. One by one, adults that I couldn't see spoke into the microphone, their voices ringing from loudspeakers like sermon after sermon. I asked Mom when we could go. "We have to hear Dr. King speak, first." I told her I needed to use the bathroom. She said, "Don't be long." But instead of going to the bathroom, I went to a nearby grove to be alone. There was a tree there, and another girl in it, who motioned me upward. I climbed up beside her and suddenly could see over the heads of the crowd to the gleaming white Lincoln Memorial. I could see Dr. King standing there. And, best of all, I could hear him when he spoke those amazing words: "I HAVE A DREAM . . ." Ending Sentence Suddenly, I knew just what I would be standing up for.

Marching Toward Washington

Beginning Paragraph Early Wednesday morning in Washington, D.C., Momma startled me awake. It was still dark outside, and crickets chirped like crazy. “Get up, put on your best dress, and follow me,” she said. “We’re walking to the Lincoln Memorial for something important.”

Tired and confused, I rolled out of bed and picked out my favorite dress. Why are we walking all the way to the Lincoln Memorial, I wondered? It was nearly seven miles away.

I followed Momma through darkened neighborhood streets. I noticed other families walking in the same direction as us. “Are we all going to the same place?” I asked.

“Yes, Jillian. We’re gathering for the March on Washington,” she responded.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s a rally for civil rights, so you can have a better life when you grow up,” she said.

Hours later my legs ached as we finally arrived at the National Mall. That’s the huge space between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Buses pulled up beside us from destinations like Montgomery, Jackson, and Atlanta. People carried signs. The crowd was so big that I couldn’t take a step without bumping into someone.

Momma linked her arm through mine and told me to do the same thing with the gentlemen next to me. Then we marched arm-in-arm with the crowd and sang “We shall overcome!”

The march halted somewhere in front of the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where a stage, podium, and speakers were set up. Many people would be giving speeches, but I was too short to see anything.

The speeches energized the crowd. People clapped their hands and shouted “Amen!” When I couldn’t stand it any longer, I slithered through the crowd toward a line of trees. Other kids sat high up on the limbs, so I climbed, too.

“Check out this view,” said a girl my age.

Now high up in the tree, I had a complete view of the stage and the crowd. The entire National Mall was filled with people packed together like ants around the huge pool of water that reflected the Washington Monument. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a man in a black suit approached the podium. The crowd buzzed with excitement.

“It’s Dr. King!” said my companion on the tree limb.

The crowd hushed, the speakers crackled, and the man took the microphone. He spoke powerfully, booming four words that I’ll never forget:

“I HAVE A DREAM . . .”

Those words and this march would forever go down in the history of the United States. If that’s not something worth getting out of bed early for, I don’t know what is.