March on Washington 2026: Thousands Rally to Defend the Vote
and Civil Rights | AC1N
DRM News, Aug 28, 2026 #MarchOnWashington2026 #DefendTheVote #VotingRights
Thousands gathered in Washington, D.C., for the “March on
Washington 2026: Defend the Vote,” marking the 63rd anniversary of the historic
1963 march. Reverend Al Sharpton, Spike Lee, Yolanda Renee King and other
prominent figures joined the rally as speakers and activists called for voting
rights, civil rights and economic justice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF39BlZKZwg
-snip-
Most of these marchers were Black, but there were a considerable number of White people who also in this march.
In age, the marchers appeared to be from the early 20s on up. Most of the marchers appeared to be over the age of 40 years old. I didn't see any children among these marchers.
There were a number of people in this march who were wheelchairs or walking with canes.
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube video of the 63rd anniversary of the March on Washington. That march was held on August 28, 2026 in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
This post includes a news article about this 63rd anniversary march and presents the words to several chants that are heard in that showcase video.
The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the organizers and leaders of this march and thanks to all those who participated in this march. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
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NEWS ARTICLE EXCERPT ABOUT THE 63RD YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MARCH ON WASHINGTON
From https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/one-different-63rd-anniversary-march-190500945.html ‘This one is different’: 63rd anniversary of March on
Washington comes at a moment of crisis for Black Americans published by Gerren Keith Gaynor, August 28, 2026
"Thousands descended on the Lincoln Memorial plaza on Friday
in Washington, D.C., to participate in a demonstration marking the 63rd
anniversary of the March on Washington for Freedom and Jobs.
While there have been several such commemorations since the
original 1963 march organized by civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, John Lewis, and others, Black leaders
in 2026 say that the stakes for this year's march are higher than ever
following the rollback of voting rights and economic opportunity and the
mysterious deaths of young Black men in the South.
"This one is different," says Marc Morial,
President and CEO of the National Urban League. He told theGrio, "The
urgency comes after a sustained 18-to-20-month attack on all of the victories
of the civil rights movement, from equal opportunity in employment through
attacks on diversity, through the Supreme Court's gutting of the Voting Rights
Act by way of the Callais case."
The theme of this year's march, organized by Rev. Al
Sharpton's National Action Network and Martin Luther King III's Drum Major
Institute, is "Protect the Vote." Following the Supreme Court's
Louisiana v. Callais ruling in April, which struck down protections against
racial discrimination in voting for Black Americans, Republican-controlled
states in the South, at the direction of President Donald Trump, moved to
eliminate majority-Black Congressional districts, threatening generations of
Black electoral representation.
"Defending the vote means defending the foundation of
our democracy," said Martin Luther King III. "Sixty-three years after
my father stood at the Lincoln Memorial, we are called to march again, not only
in remembrance, but in action."
Morial told theGrio that this year brings a "sense of
urgency and purpose," adding, "There's no commemorative element of
this march. This march is about defending the vote. This march is about
restoring equal opportunity. This march is about resistance to a movement that
is taking America in the absolute wrong direction."
In addition to voting rights rollbacks, Black Americans are
seeing a rise in unemployment and less access to economic opportunity,
including cuts to higher education funding and critical social services like
Medicaid, as a result of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, passed last July.
"The big ugly bill is damaging America in ways beyond
description," said Morial. "We want the world to know that there is
another path other than the path of division and destruction, and billionaire
tax benefits and cuts to healthcare, education, and [enforcing] violent
immigration enforcement strategies."
[…]
The 63rd anniversary of the March on Washington also marks
the anniversary of the 1955 lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till, who was
murdered by a mob of white men in Mississippi. Organizers of the 1963 march
intentionally chose Aug. 28 as the date of the historic demonstration to honor
Till's life.
The joint commemorations of the March on Washington and
Till's murder come as Black America mourns the mysterious deaths of young Black
men killed in the South: Nolan Wells, 18, who died during a July 4 boat trip
with white friends on Horn Island, Mississippi; Daniel Irving, 18, who drowned
at a north Texas lake in April; and Tyler Smith, 18, who died of a gunshot
wound to the head while reportedly playing Russian Roulette with friends.
"Seventy-one years later…we gather again because the
lynching of Black people did not end…[with] Emmett Till," said McMillan.
[…]
The civil rights leader said the community is demanding
transparency, adding, "What the families deserve are answers to three
deaths that are suspicious…the failure of the justice system to adequately
respond is what we raise in a march like this."
McMillan said Black Americans overall are witnessing a
"modern-day lynching of our rights." He lamented, "We're seeing
voting rights stripped away and democracy being harder to access. We're seeing
diversity, equity, and inclusion being dismantled in front of our eyes."
Before leading Friday's march from the Lincoln Memorial to
the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, Rev. Sharpton called out the Trump
administration and those he said are working to "pervert the dream"
that King fought so hard to achieve. He declared, "The dream is still
alive," even as Black communities experience setbacks."...
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EXAMPLES OF SOME CHANTS FROM THE 2026 MARCH ON WASHINGTON
(as heard in the YouTube video that is showcased in this pancocojams post:) *
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF39BlZKZwg )
These chants are numbered for referencing purposes only.
1. call: "Who has the power?"
response: "We have the power".
**
2. call: "Show me what democracy looks like."
response: "This is what democracy looks like."
**
3. call: "Ain't no power like the power of the people
'cause the power of the people don't stop."
response- "Say what?"
**
4. call: "Whose streets?"
response: "Our streets."
**
5. call: "When I say Breanna you say Taylor. Breanna!
response: Taylor!
call: "When I say "George" you say Floyd. George!
response: Floyd!
-snip-
This chant is about those Black people who have died in the last ten years or so at the hands of United States policemen
**
6. call: "No justice!"
Response: "No peace!"
**
7. call: "Justice!"
response: "Now!"
call: "If we don't get it"
response: " Shut it down!"
**
8. "Save the vote!"
*These are only the chants that I could decipher. There were other chants whose words I couldn't decipher.
Additions and corrections are welcome.
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