Civil rights groups plan Washington march after Supreme Court voting rights ruling

A coalition led by Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network has announced a march on Washington for August 28, responding to recent federal rulings that weakened voting protections.

• 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.
• Martin Luther King III said defending the vote means defending democracy and called for marching "not only in remembrance, but in action."
• In April, the Supreme Court struck down Louisiana's congressional map and rewrote Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, limiting protections against racial gerrymandering.
• Alabama judges upheld a redistricting plan that eliminates one of the state's two majority-Black congressional districts for the midterm elections.