On Saturday, August 1, sixty years after the Chicago Freedom Movement marched into Marquette Park, thousands will march again to demand freedom from mass criminalization and detention, full protection of voting rights, and a future rooted in dignity, justice, and shared humanity.
On Saturday, August 1, 2026, thousands will march in Chicago for The Fierce Urgency of Now: A National March into Marquette Park, a historic multi-faith mobilization for voting rights, freedom from mass criminalization, economic justice, and a future rooted in dignity, justice and shared humanity.
Join us Saturday in Marquette Park to hear from:
Bernice King
Common
Mumu Fresh
Speech
Sumoud Collective
Zeshan B
In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Chicago Freedom Movement marched into Marquette Park to confront entrenched segregation, redlining, and organized racial violence. Sixty years later, communities across the country face renewed attacks on voting rights and access to the ballot, expanding systems of criminalization and detention, and deepening economic inequality.
This national gathering connects the unfinished work of 1966 to the defining moral challenges of this moment. Faith leaders, civic leaders, organizers, artists, young people, and communities from across the country will march for free and fair elections, freedom for immigrant and marginalized communities, and a future rooted in dignity, justice, and shared humanity.
Led locally by IMAN in partnership with 60+ community-rooted organizations, and nationally by Powered By Faith, this mobilization is a call to action grounded in moral clarity, cultural power, and collective resolve.
Join us on August 1 in Chicago as we carry the legacy of the Chicago Freedom Movement, continue its unfinished work, and rise together for the fierce urgency of now.
stay tuned
Details on getting to Chicago on August 1
Upcoming workshops and trainings
Programming for the day of the March, Saturday, August 1
Pre-March Program at 63rd & Kedzie: 9AM
March Toward Marquette Park: 11AM
Main Program (speakers and musical acts): 12PM
Post-March Activations: 2–5PM
Media registrations page is live. 📰
more info
Protect democracy • Expand ballot access • End voter suppression
Restore and strengthen federal protections against voter suppression, racial gerrymandering, and discriminatory election laws.
Guarantee equitable access to the ballot through same-day registration, early voting, vote-by-mail, language assistance, and accessible polling places.
Prohibit voter intimidation, discriminatory voter purges, and laws that criminalize or suppress participation by historically marginalized communities.
End mass detention • Keep families together • Invest in communities
End federal funding for immigrant detention centers and prohibit the expansion of detention and deportation infrastructure.
Protect family unity by ending detention, deportation, and transfer practices that separate children, parents, spouses, and caregivers.
Redirect federal investments from detention and deportation toward housing, healthcare, legal representation, reentry support, and community-based alternatives.
Ensure detention centers uphold religious freedoms for detainees including providing prayer spaces, accessing clergy, and distributing sacraments.
End military complicity • Enforce human rights accountability • End unconditional military aid
End U.S. military, weapons, surveillance, and defense cooperation with governments engaged in occupation, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, unlawful detention, or mass violence.
Require all military assistance and defense agreements to meet strict human rights, international law, transparency, and congressional oversight standards.
End unconditional foreign military aid by conditioning all U.S. security assistance on meaningful accountability and compliance with human rights and international law.
Dozens of organizations have signed on to the August 1 National March into Marquette Park. Join us by indicating the name of your organization on the form above.
17th Ward Office
A Just Harvest
Alliance for Moorish-American Progress
All United
Almaun Neighborly Needs Las Vegas
Arise Chicago
Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken E.H.C.
Black Metropolis Research Consortium
CAIR-Chicago
Cedars
Charlotte Muslim Caucus
Chicago Torture Justice Center
Chicago United Solidarity Project
Chicagoland Green Party
Congregation Hakafa
Congregation Tzedek Chicago
Council of Islamic Organization of Greater Chicago
DREAM of Detroit
Englewood Arts Collective
Fourth Presbyterian Church
Freedom Dream Collective
Freedom to Flourish
Greater Chicago Food Depository
Greater Southwest Development Corporation
Hot Chi Chicken
ICAN Outreach Community Organization
Illinois Coalition for Human Rights
Illinois Green Party
IMAN Atlanta
Inner-City Muslim Action Network
International Museum of Muslim Cultures
Islamic Learning Institute
Islamic Center of Naperville
Islah LA
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
Jewish Student Collective at UIC
Jewish Voice for Peace (Chicago)
Justice Journey Alliance
Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church
Live Free Illinois
Makom Solel Lakeside
Mennonite Action Chicago
Muslim Civic Coalition
Muslims for Just Futures
Nehemiah Trinity Rising
New Life Centers
Palestinian Youth Movement
Proletariat Representation USA (PRUSA)
PSL Chicago
Rainbow PUSH Coalition
Refugee Action Network
Resident Association of Greater Englewood (R.A.G.E.)
Sacred Roots
Sanad Food Pantry
Save Our SNAP Coalition
Side with Love
Sinai Chicago / Holy Cross Hospital
South Shore United Methodist Church
Southside Flourish Movement
Southwest Action Network (SWAN)
Southwest Organizing Project
St. James Cathedral, Chicago
St. Sabina Church
State Representative Abdelnasser Rashid
State Representative Lisa Davis
Students for Justice in Palestine
Teamwork Englewood
The Firehouse Community Arts Center of Chicago
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
The Resurrection Project
Trinity United Church of Christ
Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois
