Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III Announce March On Washington

On Wednesday, Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, and Arndrea Waters ​King announced plans to have another March on Washington in August to defend voting rights. 

NBC News reports that a coalition led by Sharpton’s National Action Network and several other labor and civil rights groups will host the March on Washington 2026: Defend the ​Vote march on Aug. 28. That date is notable as it marks the 63rd anniversary of the first March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his “I Have A Dream” speech. 

In addition to NAN, the American Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of Government Employees, the NAACP, the National Council of Negro Women, the National Urban League, the League of ⁠United Latin ​American Citizens, and the Working Families Party are all confirmed to participate in the March.

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, is also confirmed to attend, with other caucus members expected to join her. In a press release, NAN said the March on Washington 2026 is focused on three core goals: defending voting rights, securing economic dignity, and ensuring affordability for everyday people. 

“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 March on Washington 2026 is a moral call to protect democracy for every generation. We march to defend the vote, honor those who sacrificed for it, and ensure that every voice is protected,” Arndrea Waters King said in a statement. 

While the march is intended to honor King’s legacy, it was organized in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to gut Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Section 2 was enacted to prevent states from drawing congressional maps that are racially gerrymandered. Sharpton has called that decision “a ⁠bullet in the heart of the voting rights movement.” 

He’s not wrong. In the months following the Supreme Court’s decision, several southern states moved to pass congressional maps that eliminated majority Black districts and essentially diluted Black voting power. In Tennessee, Republican state legislators could be seen laughing in protesters’ faces as they passed a map killing the state’s only majority-Black district. 

In addition to blatantly racist congressional maps, President Donald Trump has continually tried to place restrictions on voting. Trump tried and failed to convince Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would have required proof of citizenship to register to vote and imposed significant restrictions on mail-in voting. 

When that bill didn’t pass, Trump decided to take matters into his own hands and issued an executive order requiring states to send sensitive voter data to the federal government and preventing mail-in ballots from being counted in states that refused. Luckily, several federal judges have blocked nearly every aspect of the executive order, but that still hasn’t stopped Trump from trying to sow doubt in the upcoming midterm elections. 

Republicans would rather disenfranchise Black people to win elections instead of passing any kind of legislation that addresses the nation’s mounting affordability crisis. 

SEE ALSO:

Rev. Al Sharpton Leads Pro-DEI March Down Wall Street

How Mahalia Jackson Became The Soul Of A Movement

Biden To Celebrate March On Washington With King Family