Black Pastors to Rally at DNC Headquarters Demanding Economic Justice
Black pastors led by the Black Church Center for Justice and Equality will rally at Democratic National Committee headquarters on September 17, calling for a federal job guarantee, universal health care, and voting rights protections. Organizers say the agenda reflects the unfinished economic work of the Civil Rights Movement.
Black pastors and congregants will rally outside Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., on September 17, 2026, demanding that party leaders embrace a progressive economic agenda they say has deep roots in the Black community.
The rally is organized by the Black Church Center for Justice and Equality, led by Dr. Delman Coates, senior pastor of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Maryland, and Dr. Willie Francois III, senior pastor of Fountain Baptist Church in Summit, New Jersey.
Organizers named the event "Substance Over Symbolism." They say the rally is a direct response to Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank that announced plans to spend $15 million through 2028 to counter the party's progressive populist movement.
The coalition is calling for passage of a federal job guarantee, universal health care, universal pre-K, fully funded K-12 schools, tuition-free public college, universal affordable housing, and voting rights protections through the For the People Act.
"For too long the Black community has settled for symbolism rather than demanding substance," Dr. Coates said in a statement. "The Black Church must show up to dispel the narrative that this is not what the Black community wants."
Dr. Francois added that the agenda has long had support in the Black community, tracing it to the Freedom Budget and Rev. Jesse Jackson's presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988.
The rally begins at noon at DNC headquarters at 430 South Capitol Street SE, then continues at 2:30 p.m. at Third Way's offices at 1025 Connecticut Avenue NW.
