"He was the person to both be aspirational and practical. Trump, who is running for a second term in office on a law-and-order platform, is trailing Democratic challenger Joe Biden in most opinion polls ahead of the November 3 election. Biden accused Trump of "rooting" for violence. WASHINGTON — The Rev. The law required states with a history of voter suppression to seek federal clearance before changing voting regulations.Both measures are awaiting action in the Republican-controlled Senate.Unlike the 1963 march, when more than 200,000 people participated, Friday's rally comes during an outbreak of COVID-19, a disease that has infected more than 5.8 million Americans and left 180,000 dead - the highest number of cases and deaths in the world.With cases still rising in many parts of the country, organisers said they expect about 50,000 participants after shuttle buses from coronavirus hot spots were cancelled. "We're at a time when anti-racism and this fight against police brutality is at the forefront," said Lopez Matthews, a historian and digital librarian at Howard University in Washington, DC.
"In June, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would ban police use of chokeholds and end qualified immunity for officers, among other reforms.And in July, Democratic senators reintroduced legislation that would restore a provision of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965, named after the late civil rights icon John Lewis, but that was gutted by the US Supreme Court in 2013. Martin Luther King Jr., raises her fist as she speaks during the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial. The march, scheduled for Aug. 28, will coincide with the original March … Kenosha protests in wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake remained under control as calls for change were amplified by civil rights leaders Thursday.The protest comes after the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.WASHINGTON -- Capping a week of protests and outrage over the police shooting of a Black man in Wisconsin, civil rights advocates began highlighting the scourge of police and vigilante violence against Black Americans at a commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.Copyright © 2020 by The Associated Press.
US Elections 2020 Thousands to commemorate MLK's dream in DC civil rights march The rally comes amid fresh outrage after police shot Jacob Blake, a … "But we're having a moral reckoning right now, and the march is going to be part of that. "And yet, while the struggle for equality has in essence remained the same since the civil rights movement in the 1960s, Hopkinson says, the methodology as well as the optics have changed.Unlike King, who wore a suit and tie, spoke about reconciliation and called for non-violence, this summer's protests were held by outraged, young activists - many donning shorts and T-shirts and prone to chants such as "F*** Trump. Blake's father will speak on Friday. Protesters gathered to call for criminal justice reform, racial equality and to honor the 57th anniversary of the Rev. He delivered, using his aspirational talent. The march will coincide with the 57th anniversary of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr's iconic "I Have A Dream" speech. "A lot of the same problems still exist," Belton told Al Jazeera. "It's a perfect time to have another march to bring attention to these issues. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network are preparing for this year's March on Washington. The rally comes amid fresh outrage after police shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, multiple times in the back. "We will NOT stand for looting, arson, violence, and lawlessness on American streets," US President Donald Trump said on Twitter, adding that he would be dispatching federal forces to quell the protests in Kenosha. ...TODAY, I will be sending federal law enforcement and the National Guard to Kenosha, WI to restore LAW and ORDER!Friday's event is also taking place during a fraught election year. Martin Luther King III, a son of the late civil rights icon and the Rev. "It is one of the keys to MLK's greatness," Cleveland told Al Jazeera. "Dr Martin Luther King Jr, with arms raised, marching along Constitution Avenue with other civil rights protestors carrying placards, from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington in 1963 [File: AP Photo]Black Lives Matter demonstrators marching towards the White House during racial inequality protests in downtown Washington, DC, the US [Erin Scott/Reuters]Dr Martin Luther King Jr, addressing marchers during his 'I Have a Dream' speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC on "What's he doing? " "That's very significant because it's a signal that it's not about respectability politics, you don't have to be respectable to have human rights," Hopkinson said.This summer's protests around the country were organised and energised by the Movement for Black Lives, a national coalition of more than 150 Black-led organisations of young activists formed after the 2014 killing of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old unarmed Black man shot dead by a white police officer.The movement is demanding more radical changes than the legacy civil rights groups organising Friday's march. "History is not linear, history is over time gaining a little bit of ground until we reach a place where we move past the oppressive nature of systemic racism, piece by piece, bit by bit. "The numbers do make a difference and that is what made the George Floyd protests really powerful," Hopkinson said. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” address from the same location. They have been pushing for the passage of the BREATHE Act, which would divest funds away from police departments and prisons in favour of investments in healthcare, education, housing and other social services in Black communities. The movement is scheduled to hold its virtual Black National Convention on Friday evening, when organisers will unveil a new political agenda intended to further build on the momentum of this summer's protests.Friday's march, meanwhile, seeks "to restore and recommit to the dream Dr Martin Luther King, Jr defined" that year, according to a press release, as well as "call for police accountability and reform, and to mobilize voters ahead of the November elections".In 1963, King lamented "the unspeakable horrors of police brutality" and said he dreamt that his children would "one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character".Expected to participate in Friday's march are Martin Luther King III, a son of the late civil rights icon, attorney Benjamin Crump and the relatives of Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor - victims of police killings.Following a commemorative rally, participants in Washington will end the day with a march to the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial.Steven Cleveland, creator of the documentary "A King in Paradise", which explores King's activism and life, said the original march, much like the upcoming one, was meant to be an inspirational moment in Black history - rather than a practical one that would deliver immediate political results.But King, as a leader, Cleveland says, had the rare ability to both inspire people and deliver policy changes, exemplified by his success in helping pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964.