US civil rights leaders plan march on Washington for voting protections

Kamala Harris prays for the people affected by the fires in California with Rev Al Sharpton, Arndrea Waters King and Martin Luther King III, on 15 January 2025 at a National Action Network event in Washington. Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP View image in fullscreen Kamala Harris prays for the people affected by the fires in California with Rev Al Sharpton, Arndrea Waters King and Martin Luther King III, on 15 January 2025 at a National Action Network event in Washington. Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP US civil rights leaders plan march on Washington for voting protections Rev Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III to lead August march after court rulings weakened voting rights A coalition of civil rights leaders have announced plans to march on Washington in defense of voting rights following a string of federal and supreme court rulings that have weakened protections against racial discrimination in US elections. Reverend Al Sharpton ’s National Action Network is leading the 28 August action , joined by Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters ​King, and several civil rights groups. The “March on Washington 2026: Defend the ​Vote” will take place on the 63rd anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s I Have a ​Dream speech. “Defending ⁠the vote means defending the foundation of our democracy,” Martin Luther King III said in a statement to the Associated Press. “Sixty-three years after my father stood at the ​Lincoln Memorial, we are called to march again, not only in remembrance, ​but in ⁠action.” In April, the supreme court struck down Louisiana’s congressional map and substantially rewrote section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, dismantling key protections against racial gerrymandering. Campaign organisers told the AP that the decision has intensified a long-running ​fight over Black political representation. They describe the 28 August action as part of “the same call our elders answered” more than 60 years ago on their campaign website , and have planned a symbolic return to the Lincoln Memorial where King addressed voters during the peak of the civil rights movement. “We return to the ground where a quarter million Americans once stood for jobs and freedom, and we carry their unfinished work into a new generation,” organisers said. Several states have moved to redraw congressional maps following the supreme court’s 2 April ruling, including in Alabama where judges have upheld a redistricting process that will eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black districts in this year’s midterm elections, defying previous court orders. The Trump administration has pursued additional measures to narrow Americans’ ability to vote, including new proof of citizenship requirements and unprecedented restrictions on mail-in ballots , including a proposal that would give the US Department of Homeland Security and other agencies access to state-level voter lists. So far, federal judges have blocked both proposals. The coalition will also include House representat