March for democracy planned for anniversary of historic MLK-led 1963 Washington march

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A large coalition led by the Rev. Al Sharpton and the family of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. will mark the anniversary of the historic March on Washington next month with a march for democracy.

Sharpton's National Action Network announced Tuesday plans for March on Washington 2026: Defend the Vote on Aug. 28 on what will be 63 years since the 1963 march.

“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 NAACP, the National Urban League and the League of United Latin American Citizens are among the multiple groups expected in Washington, D.C., for the event. The march is expected draw civil rights and faith leaders as well as community organizers.

The location in Washington where the march will take place and other details will be announced later.

The original March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where King gave his famous “I Have A Dream” speech, is considered one of the greatest and most consequential racial justice demonstrations in U.S. history. The nonviolent protest saw an estimated 250,000 people — Black and white — gather at the Lincoln Memorial steps in support of federal civil rights and voting rights.

This new march is partly in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that gutted the Voting Rights Act. The majority-conservative court ruled in April states should not rely on racial demographics when drawing congressional districts. The ruling struck down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana and has led to other states redistricting.

Some Black Americans who were part of the Civil Rights Movement saw the decision as a death knell for a crown jewel of the Voting Rights Act. Younger Black politicians say it is a reason to keep fighting for representation.