Thousands march in Washington as leaders warn of voting and civil rights rollbacks

More than six decades after Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and declared his dream for a more just America, thousands are expected to march in ‌Washington on Friday, as a new generation of civil rights leaders warns that the very rights King fought and died for are once again under siege.

Civil rights leaders will retrace his path through the capital, invoking the same demands King made from the same steps of the ‌Lincoln Memorial two and a half generations ago: that the fight for equality remains unfinished. The event, called "March on Washington 2026: Defend ‌the Vote," hopes to draw thousands to the National Mall, and is organized by Al Sharpton's National Action Network and Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King's Drum Major Institute, alongside more than 90 community partner organizations, including the NAACP and National Urban League.

“Defending the vote means defending the foundation of our democracy,” said King III ⁠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 comes after the Supreme Court weakened a key provision ⁠of the Voting Rights Act earlier this year that set off a string of redistricting battles across the South, with Republican-led statehouses moving quickly, in some ​cases within days, to redraw congressional maps in time for the midterm elections in November.

According to the organizers, the march aims ⁠to "confront the systemic rollback of civil rights at this critical moment," referring to broad changes made by President Donald Trump's efforts to curb mail-in voting, weaken anti-discrimination protections across the ⁠federal ​government and fundamentally shift what civil rights are. "We stand on the same ground because the work is not finished," Sharpton wrote in a letter to supporters. "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 program begins at 9 a.m. ET with confirmed speakers U.S. Senator Bernie ⁠Sanders, an independent from Vermont, ⁠and Democratic Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Yvette Clarke from New York. “The March on Washington 2026 is a moral call to protect democracy for every generation,” said Arndrea Waters King. “We march to defend the vote, honor those ‌who sacrificed for ‌it, and ensure that every voice is protected.”