Photos: Event Flyer|Wikimedia Commons
New York, NY (August 17, 2026)— National Action Network (NAN) Founder and President Reverend Al Sharpton, together with Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, the Drum Major Institute and a growing national coalition, today announced that U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will participate in “March on Washington 2026: Defend the Vote,” taking place in Washington, D.C. on Friday, August 28, 2026, the 63rd anniversary of the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
The anticipated participation of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez brings prominent progressive voices in Congress into a mobilization led by Black civil rights leadership and joined by labor, faith, Latino, voting rights and community organizations. Their presence underscores the breadth of the coalition forming around the march’s central demand, including protecting voting rights, advancing economic dignity and confronting the affordability crisis facing working families.
The moment also reflects a wider tradition of coalition politics in which movements for racial justice, workers’ rights, economic fairness and democratic participation meet on shared ground. At a time of heightened concern over access to the ballot and the durability of civil rights protections, the march is designed to show that defending democracy requires partnership across constituencies while recognizing and supporting the Black leadership that has historically driven the fight for voting rights in the United States.
Reverend Al Sharpton shares, “Voting rights have always been strongest when people across movements understand that this fight belongs to all of us. The participation of Senator Sanders and Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez sends an important message that progressive leaders are standing shoulder to shoulder with Black civil rights leadership, labor, faith leaders and communities across this country to defend the right to vote. We may come from different movements and traditions, but when democracy and civil rights are under attack, collaboration is not optional — it is essential.”
“The presence of progressive leaders alongside Black civil rights organizations and people from across the country reflects the kind of partnership this moment demands,” says Martin Luther King III. “Protecting civil rights requires all of us to stand together and make clear that the right to vote is not negotiable.”
The presence of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez adds a visible progressive congressional contingent to that coalition, linking long-running fights over wages, health care, housing costs and economic inequality with the defense of voting rights. Their participation will emphasize that civil rights and economic justice are not parallel causes, but overlapping questions about who has political power, who can exercise it and whether democratic institutions respond to the material needs of the people they serve.
The march will both commemorate the legacy of those who gathered in Washington in 1963 and serve as a present-day call to action. Supporters from across the country are encouraged to register, organize delegations and join the August 28 mobilization.
WHEN
Friday, August 28, 2026
WHERE
Washington, D.C.
HOW TO REGISTER
