WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sixty-three years after the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, civil rights leaders and activists will return to the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28 for a national mobilization focused on protecting voting rights, civil rights and economic opportunity.
The ‘March on Washington 2026: Defend the Vote’ is being convened by the National Action Network and the Drum Major Institute, with Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King among those leading the effort. Organizers say the march will bring together civil rights, labor, faith, Latino, voting rights and community organizations from across the country.
The event will take place exactly 63 years after the Aug. 28, 1963, March on Washington, when approximately 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.
Organizers say the 2026 march is intended not only to commemorate that history but to respond to current concerns about voting access, civil rights protections and economic inequality.
“We stand on the same ground because the work is not finished,” Sharpton said. “The right to vote, the very foundation of our power, is being chipped away in statehouse after statehouse. When the vote is weakened, every other right grows fragile with it.”
The march will focus on defending voting rights and equal ballot access, protecting civil rights and equal opportunity, and addressing economic concerns including wages, housing, health care and food access.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are also expected to participate, adding two prominent progressive voices to the coalition.
Sharpton said their participation demonstrates the importance of building alliances around voting rights.
“We may come from different movements and traditions, but when democracy and civil rights are under attack, collaboration is not optional. It is essential,” Sharpton said.
Martin Luther King III said the gathering continues the work of his parents and the generations that fought to expand voting and civil rights.
“Protecting civil rights requires all of us to stand together and make clear that the right to vote is not negotiable,” King said.
The march also carries a personal connection for Sharpton and King. In 2000, Coretta Scott King brought the two together during the Redeem the Dream march and challenged them to continue working together to advance the movement for justice. Organizers describe this year’s march as a continuation of that assignment.
Participants will gather at the Lincoln Memorial beginning at 8 am Friday, Aug. 28, with the program scheduled to begin at 9 am.
Organizers are encouraging individuals, churches, community organizations and other groups from across the country to organize delegations and travel to Washington for the event.
“We return to Washington not to remember history, but to make history,” organizers said. “We march for the vote. We march for justice. We march for the future.”
