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Fifty-seven years ago Friday, women were on the sidelines during the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech — and the civil rights movement overall, U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty said.

Taking the stage at a rally Friday commemorating the 1963 March on Washington, Columbus congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) emphasized the need for police accountability legislation.

Members of Congress demanded an end to the legislative impasse over bills to revamp policing and make voting easier Friday as they rallied with thousands of people at the Lincoln Memorial to commemorate the 1963 March on Washington.

Fifty-seven years after Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington, the families of Black Americans shot or killed by police officers spoke at the same site Friday, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

Joined by other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which bans police officers from using chokeholds and no-knock warrants. The bill has already passed the House.

Thousands seeking criminal justice reform gathered at the National Mall on Friday under the rallying cry "Get Your Knee Off Our Necks," a reference to the manner in which George Floyd was killed while in police custody in May and reminiscent of the 1963 March on Washington.

On August 28, 2020 Congresswoman Joyce Beatty spoke to the nation on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the 57th anniversary celebration of the March on Washington.