The anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington is less a commemoration, organizers say, than an effort to inject fresh energy into issues of economics and justice that, despite undeniable progress in overcoming racial bias, still leave stubborn gaps between white and black Americans.
The speeches that carry out over the Reflecting Pool, which 50 years ago prodded Congress to pass landmark laws, are expected to take hard aim at racial profiling in police tactics, high prison rates of black men and current efforts in Republican-led states to restrict voting access.
“We are still confronted with some of the same problems, and there are new problems,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, an organizer of the event, officially the National Action to Realize the Dream March. “People are asking me why are we marching? The issue is why did we wait till now to come and march in Washington?”
A lineup of past civil rights heroes, current leaders and Democratic officials are scheduled to speak, including Mr. Sharpton; Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who on Thursday sued Texas over a strict voter ID law; Representative John Lewis of Georgia, an organizer of the original 1963 march; and family members of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager shot last year.
