Photo by Chris Tank
More than 1,000 religious leaders are expected to descend on the National Mall on Monday morning to honor the spirit of a civil rights giant and rally against President Donald Trump’s leadership in light of the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville earlier this month.
The National Action Network is organizing the “One Thousand Ministers March for Justice” on the 54th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.
Civil rights activist and National Action Network president Rev. Al Sharpton said that this year’s march has a newfound meaning. “Charlottesville gave it a new energy, and a lot of ministers called in saying that this is the time to make a moral statement,” Sharpton said in a statement, according to The Washington Post. “The president called for unity, and we are going to show unity. The question is, which side is the president on?”
Nearly two weeks ago, white supremacists rallied in Charlottesville to protest the removal a General Robert E. Lee statue. The violent demonstration to the death of counter-protester Heather Heyer; two Virginia State Police troopers also died in a helicopter crash while on patrol during the rally.
Before and after the rally, city officials have removed several Confederate memorials—some opting to put them in museums instead of on public streets. But Sharpton said at a prayer breakfast on August 18 that leaders have to do more than take the statues down. “We have to change the spirit,” Sharpton said, according to the Afro. “It does little good to remove a statue if the laws that hurt us remain the same.”
Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faith leaders are expected to gather at Dr. King’s memorial on Monday “to make a moral statement that no matter what party is in office, there are certain moral things that should be nonnegotiable,” Sharpton said in the statement, adding that voting rights, health care, criminal justice reform, and economic justice are all areas of concern.
Deck for Ministers March for Justice by Christina Elyse Sturdivant on Scribd
