The photograph shows a densely packed group of women of different ages and different races standing outdoors, their open mouths indicating communal singing or choral speaking. Several participants wear round campaign buttons on their clothing, the kind distributed during the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. Trees and parked vehicles are visible in the background, indicating a scene at the periphery of the demonstration in Washington, D.C. The image represents the broad, mixed participation of Black and white women in the major demonstration for Jobs and Freedom. Communal singing—particularly of freedom songs and gospel songs—was a defining element of the U.S. civil rights movement and an expression of peaceful mass protest against racial segregation and discrimination.