The photograph shows the view from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial looking east across the National Mall: on both sides of the Reflecting Pool, a densely packed crowd extends to the horizon, where the Washington Monument is barely discernible. Rows of trees flank the axis on the left and right. The perspective corresponds to the sight line of the speakers during the rally on August 28, 1963. The image documents the scale of participation in one of the largest civil society protests in the history of the United States. The demonstrators demanded civil equality as well as employment and thereby opposed the racial segregation that was anchored in law in large parts of the USA.