During an interview with “Meet the Press,” Rev. Al Sharpton (pictured) said a day after a strong turnout at the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington in D.C. that while there has been key developments since Dr. King delivered his speech in 1963, much of America is still experiencing the same struggles, involving voting rights and economic justice, as those who fought for civil rights during the ’60s.
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Tens of thousands of supporters — young and old — came to the commemorative gathering in D.C. to honor the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the event hosted by Sharpton and Martin Luther King III.
And while Sharpton had nothing but praise for those who came in support, he also took the time to express on “Meet the Press” just how concerned he was about the current state of affairs, including the Supreme Court’s decision to alter key parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act:
I think his message relates in the sense that it laid the chart — it charted the way from where we are. A Black president, Black attorney general who spoke at the march yesterday. but it also raised a challenge for this generation that we talked about yesterday.
The Supreme Court just took away section 4, the voting rights act, which means that we challenge the congress now to come with a new voting rights bill, because this is the first time in 48 years that we do not have free clearance in areas that have a history of discrimination.
A jobs bill, the economic inequality today is the same as it was 50 years ago, so I think this generation of civil rights leader and the civil rights community must challenge the economic inequality, the regression on voting rights, as well as deal with some of the gun violence and the internal problems in our own community.
Watch Rev. Sharpton’s appearance on Meet the Press here:
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