Statement on the Anniversary of the March on Washington
August 28, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following is a statement from Tianna Mays, legal director at Democracy Defenders Action, on the anniversary of the historic March on Washington. Alongside the anniversary, the organization also released MAGA’s Lost Cause, a video that explores how MAGA and the Trump administration are attempting to remake America.
“Sixty-three years ago today, a quarter-million people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to ask America to honor its ideals and demand liberation from a system built to deny Black Americans political power, economic opportunity, and full citizenship.
“Today, we are back marching on Washington for those same demands, with a renewed urgency: defending the vote. We must do this because the old machinery of voter disenfranchisement civil rights activists fought not only lingers, but is once again spreading.
“Over the last decade, the Supreme Court has significantly narrowed the Voting Rights Act’s reach, making it increasingly difficult to challenge discriminatory voting laws and practices. States are enacting laws making it harder for eligible Americans to vote and the Trump administration has relentlessly attacked our elections and tried to usurp the powers of the states and Congress to control elections.
“Those who marched on Washington in 1963 understood that democracy cannot maintain itself. That is why they marched and why we continue to today.”
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Democracy Defenders Action brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.
For media inquiries, contact, press@democracydefenders.org.
