Protesters to mark anniversary of March on Washington with nationwide marches for voting rights – By Christine Fernando (USA Today) / Aug 27 2021
Fifty-eight years after Martin Luther King Jr. led 250,000 people in the historic March on Washington, protesters will gather again Saturday in cities nationwide to demand the protection of voting rights.
As part of March On for Voting Rights, civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King and the Rev. Al Sharpton, will lead marches in Washington, Houston, Miami, Phoenix and more than 40 other cities. An estimated 50,000 people are expected to attend the march in the district, according to local permits.
Core organizers include the civil rights groups March On, the Drum Major Institute, the National Action Network, the Future Coalition, the Service Employees International Union and 51 for 51, as well as about 200 other partners.
“Voters are mobilizing to elevate the urgency and the need to pass federal voting rights legislation as we face an onslaught of voter suppression bills,” said Stasha Rhodes, campaign manager of 51 for 51, an advocacy group for Washington, D.C., statehood and one of the march’s core organizers.
