Press Releases
NAN & Rev. Al Sharpton to Lead March & Rally for Jobs and Justice on October 15th
—NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK (NAN) & REV. AL SHARPTON TO LEAD A MARCH & RALLY FOR JOBS AND JUSTICE ON OCTOBER 15TH –THE WEEKEND OF THE RESCHEDULED UNVEILING OF THE DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING MONUMENT ON THE NATIONAL MALL
From the Emancipator (Abraham Lincoln) to the Liberator (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) the collective journey of civil rights will be reaffirmed
September 15, 2011 (New York, NY) —Rev. Al Sharpton and National Action Network (NAN), along with partners in labor, education, civil rights, and clergy from across the country, will hold a rally and march for jobs and justice on Saturday, October 15, 2011, before the historic unveiling of the national King Memorial on the National Mall. A rally preceding the march will begin at 11 a.m. at Constitution Ave NW and 17th Street NW. The march will begin afterwards to the King Memorial site on Ohio Drive, SW and West Basin Drive, SW.
The event is being co-chaired by Lee A. Saunders, Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO (AFSCME), Randi Weingarten, President of American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, Senior Pastor of Grace Baptist Church & Chairman of the Board for National Action Network, Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League, Richard Trumka, President of American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Dennis Van Roekel, President of National Education Association (NEA) Larry Cohen, President of Communications Workers of America (CWA), George Gresham, President of 1199 SEIU, and Wade Henderson, President & CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR). The event is being co-hosted by Tom Joyner of the Tom Joyner Morning Show.
The previously scheduled rally and march on August 27th was delayed due to Hurricane Irene. According to Rev. Sharpton: “There are relatively few moments in our lives that make history; The weekend of October 15th will be one for the history books as we unveil the national King Memorial. It is NAN’s goal to emphasize what it was that gave Dr. King such an exalted place in American history. It was his work for civil rights and labor rights and jobs that made him the historic figure he has become. It was near the grounds of his monument that he was planning a tent city for poor people when he was killed and we will use the occasion of October 15th to raise this unfinished business and challenge those that seek to undo what Dr. King tried to do for working people and labor in this country.
National Action Network’s October 15 rally and march will call attention to key issues that have not been remedied in this country. As working Americans struggle to gain employment and livable wages, we continue to watch rampant foreclosures and fluctuating markets most heavily impacting those that are already suffering under tumultuous financial times. NAN, and its partners in labor, education, civil rights and the church, call on every man, woman and child who understands the urgency of social justice on all levels to join them in Washington, D.C. October 15.