Civil rights pioneer Gloria Richardson died over the weekend at the age of 99. Richardson was co-founder of the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee in Maryland, which fought to desegregate public institutions like schools and hospitals. Richardson also spent much of her life fighting for economic justice. She described herself as “a radical, a revolutionary,” and was one of the few women at the forefront of protests during the civil rights movement. In 2013, Democracy Now! spoke with Richardson about her life’s work, including the very brief moment she took the microphone during the 1963 March on Washington.

Gloria Richardson: “So I went up. So, I said hello, and I really, by that time, was so annoyed, I was going to tell them, 'You all just sit here until they pass that civil rights bill, even if it is a weak one.' And I said, 'Hello.' And they took — so, I guess they were right, because” —

Amy Goodman: “And they pulled the mic from your mouth.”

Gloria Richardson: “Oh yeah, they pulled it, but had one of the marshals.”