She was only 7 years old, but Lynette Smith remembers watching the historic March on Washington on television on Aug. 28, 1963 with her family.

Smith, the new chairperson of the African-American Credit Union Coalition, recalled seeing people from diverse backgrounds converge on the nation's capital to hear the many messages advocating for the pursuit of civil and economic rights. More than 250,000 attended the event back then.

Fast forward to 2013, like thousands of others, Smith and her husband, Aaron, gathered around the Lincoln Memorial at a smaller event on Aug. 24 to memorialize the 50th anniversary of the march and reflect on the urgency in the iconic speech, "I Have a Dream," delivered by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.