March on Washington

Sharpton, Floyd family plan march on the ‘ I Have a Dream' anniversary.

WASHINGTON – The Rev. Al Sharpton announced Thursday he is organizing a march in Washington, D. C., to take place on Aug. 28, the 57th anniversary of the historic March on Washington to “restore and recommit that dream.”

“We’re going back to Washington,” Sharpton declared when giving his eulogy at the funeral of George Floyd.

Floyd’s death has sparked demonstrations in cities around the country, and world, with protesters calling for reform against police brutality and the criminal justice system.

“We going back to Washington, Martin,” Sharpton declared again, addressing Martin Luther King III, the son of the civil rights leader, in the crowd. “That’s where your father stood in the shadows of the Lincoln Memorial and said, ‘ I have a dream.’ ”

Sharpton called to restore and recommit to the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., saying, they were going back in August “to stand up, because just like in one era, we had to fight slavery. Another era, we had to fight Jim Crow. Another era, we dealt with voting rights. This is the era to deal with policing and criminal justice.”

“We need to go back to Washington and stand up – black, white, Latino, Arab in the shadows of Lincoln and tell them ‘ This is the time to stop this,’” he continued.

The March on Washington in 1963 was when MLK delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech and is one of the most important civil rights demonstrations in American history.

The day of the march falls one day after President Donald Trump is expected to formally accept the nomination as the Republican Party’s candidate for president.