Social worker John “Jack” Hansan, third from left, on the train on the way from Ohio to the 1963 March on Washington. Photo courtesy of NPR.

Social worker John “Jack” Hansan has had a long and illustrious social work career.

Hansan, 83, was a charter member of the National Association of Social Workers, director of the Ohio Department of Public Welfare, and became the first social worker to serve as a governor’s chief of staff when he went to work for former Ohio Gov. John Gilligan. He is also an NASW Social Work Pioneer.

But in this NPR radio article and audio segment Hansan said one of his greatest accomplishments was helping organize an Ohio delegation to the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963.

Jack Hansan and his wife, Ethel. Photo courtesy of NPR.

The march, which was one of the largest protests in U.S. history, focused public attention on equal rights for African Americans. The event is credited with building momentum for Congressional passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Hansan’s wife Ethel was concerned the March on Washington could turn as violent as other Civil Rights protests throughout the South. And Hansan’s father urged him to think about the welfare of his four young sons and not go.

However, Hansan decided he had to be there.

“We had to get rid of this — I don’t know how you would say it — this discrimination that was so prevalent in communities like our education system, our churches,” he told NPR. “So participating in the march was like climbing a mountain, and for us, we wanted to be on the top.”

One of the organizers of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was social work icon and past NASW President Whitney M. Young Jr. The National Association of Social Workers and other organizations will take part in the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington — National Action to Realize the Dream March — on August 24 in Washington, D.C. NASW’s national office is working with the NASW Metro D.C. Chapter to bring social workers to the march. To learn how you can get involved contact NASW Senior Field Organizer Dina Kastner at dkastner@naswdc.org.