Washington, D.C. — Just Democracy, a coalition of 40+ Black and Brown-led social justice groups, is joining the national March On For Washington and Voting Rights, led by civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King III and Rev. Al Sharpton. The march will lead a historic call for federal voting rights legislation, including the for the People Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Washington D.C. Admissions Act, to protect against the hundreds of voter suppression laws being introduced around the country. 

The organizing partners of the D.C. march include the National Action Network, the King Family’s Drum Major Institute, SEIU, March On, Future Coalition and Just Democracy coalition member 51 for 51. The march will take place on August 28th, the anniversary of the original March on Washington in 1963, when a quarter of a million people marched to Washington, D.C. to demand civil rights and voting rights for Black Americans. 

Stephany Spaulding, Just Democracy Coalition Member and Founder of Truth and Conciliation, issued the following statement:

“The hundreds of voter suppression laws being proposed around the country pose an existential threat to our democracy and the lives of Black and Brown people. Martin Luther King Jr. said that ‘a voteless people is a powerless people’ and in the spirit of his nonviolent resistance teachings, we refuse to be powerless. On August 28, we will take to the streets to demand Congressional action. 

We will march to ensure Congress does its job to protect our most sacred right to vote by eliminating the filibuster and passing the For the People Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and the Washington, D.C. Admission Act. D.C. statehood is one of the most urgent voting rights issues of our time — the 700,000, mostly Black and Brown people living in Washington, D.C. deserve a vote in Congress. 

We invite every person who believes in free and fair elections, who believes that our country is better when everyone has a vote and who believes in justice and equality to march with us on August 28th. We are harnessing the historic legacy of the March on Washington, and Congress will not be able to ignore us.”

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About Just Democracy

Just Democracy is an intersectional coalition with racial justice at its core — uplifting voices from all walks of American life that are too often left out of the conversation. The coalition is made up of over 40 Black and Brown-led organizations working across issue areas. It mobilizes thousands who know that advancing social and racial justice issues first requires bold structural democracy reform.

To speak with a Just Democracy spokesperson, please email press@justdemocracy.us.