Civil rights leaders announce new March on Washington to defend voting rights on anniversary of Dr. King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech
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Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King say the Aug. 28 march is a response to recent rollbacks of voting rights protections.
Civil rights leaders are returning to the nation’s capital this summer, announcing plans for a new March on Washington aimed at defending voting rights more than six decades after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech.
According to Associated Press reports, the “March on Washington 2026: Defend the Vote” will take place Aug. 28, the 63rd anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The coalition is being led by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network alongside Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King and a broad alliance of civil rights, labor and faith organizations. Organizers say the march is intended to rally public support for voting rights after a series of legal setbacks that have weakened federal protections against racial discrimination in elections.
“Defending the vote means defending the foundation of our democracy,” Martin Luther King III said in a statement. “Sixty-three years after my father stood at the Lincoln Memorial, we are called to march again, not only in remembrance, but in action.”
The announcement comes months after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that civil rights advocates say significantly weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the landmark provision that has long been used to challenge voting laws and congressional maps that discriminate against Black and other minority voters. Organizers say the decision underscores the need for renewed public action to protect ballot access and fair representation.
Sharpton described the ruling as “a bullet in the heart” of the voting rights movement and said the upcoming march is intended to send a clear message that efforts to weaken access to the ballot box will not go unanswered.
The coalition includes organizations such as the NAACP, the National Urban League and the League of United Latin American Citizens, with additional civil rights, labor and faith leaders expected to participate. Organizers hope the demonstration will build momentum for federal voting rights protections ahead of the November midterm elections.
The original March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom drew an estimated 250,000 people to the National Mall on Aug. 28, 1963, helping galvanize support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Organizers of this year’s march say they hope to build on that legacy by confronting what they describe as a new generation of challenges to American democracy.
Additional details, including the event schedule and participating speakers, are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.