The Fierce Urgency of Now: On Saturday, August 1, thousands will gather in Chicago for a historic, multi-faith mobilization for voting rights, freedom from mass criminalization, economic justice, and a future rooted in dignity for all.
On Saturday, August 1, 2026, thousands will gather in Chicago for The Fierce Urgency of Now: A National March into Marquette Park, a multi-faith, multicultural public witness commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Chicago Freedom Movement.
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. Together, 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 dozens of community-rooted organizations, and led 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 honor the legacy of the Chicago Freedom Movement and rise together for the fierce urgency of now.
The fierce urgency of now