The announcement of the march comes a day after Senate Republicans blocked the For the People Act – a signature and election bill tabled by the Democrats to counter efforts at the state level. Republicans condemned the law as a partisan seizure of power and a federal encroachment on state voting and electoral systems. The March 28th with the theme “March On for Voting Rights” marks the 58th anniversary of the historic March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous speech “I Have a Dream”. The marches are scheduled to take place in Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix and Houston. Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of Martin Luther King Jr., will lead the march with his family’s organization, the Drum Major Institute, along with March On, the Service Employees International Union, and the National Action Network.
“It discourages me to say that we as a country and as a society are nowhere near where my father had hoped since he gave his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech 58 years ago,” King said in a statement . “I think my father would be very disappointed with where we are now, but he wouldn’t give up the nation.”
Rev. Al Sharpton, who heads the National Action Network, said it was crucial that Americans march to defend the right to vote. This year, 48 states tabled 389 bills that would restrict electoral access after record turnouts in the 2020 elections led to victories for the Democrats. Restrictions include banning ballot boxes, reducing the number of days and hours for early voting, prohibiting serving food and drink to voters in queue, and restricting who can vote by mail.
“It is time for all Americans to come together and join this non-violent, non-partisan movement in the spirit of Dr. Join King and the values he urged this nation to uphold, ”Sharpton said. “I am proud to be a part of the March On for Voting Rights, because there is no more sacred democratic right than the right to vote, and it is under threat across America. We have to fight to protect it. “
This will be the second year in a row that the organizers of the March will commemorate Washington with a renewed effort to fight for equality. Last year’s Get Your Knee Off Our Necks Commitment march in Washington pushed both state suffrage and police reform, and came to the climax of a race census triggered by George Floyd’s death.
Tens of thousands of people took part in the march, including several families of blacks who were killed by police. And while protesters marched for both the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, none of them were passed.
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