‘Jobs for Justice’ march rescheduled for October 15

A march on Washington originally scheduled to coincide with last month’s opening of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial, but postponed due to Hurricane Irene, now will take place on October 15, the Rev. Al Sharpton announced Wednesday.

The march, organized by Sharpton’s National Action Network, hopes to “start a drive to bring forth the masses of those who have not been heard in the middle of this jobs debate,” he told a news conference.

It will happen on the day before the rescheduled opening ceremony for the King Memorial, which also was postponed because of the hurricane.

The march will begin with a rally at the Lincoln Memorial and conclude near the King Memorial, Sharpton said, calling the route “emancipator to liberator.”

As originally planned for August, the “Jobs for Justice” march was intended to call on Congress and the government to do more to help improve high unemployment in the country.

Since the march and the ceremony opening the memorial were postponed, President Barack Obama has introduced his $447 billion jobs bill that includes tax cuts, tax incentives and subsidies intended to spur job creation and economic growth.

Sharpton said the rescheduled march would answer Obama’s call, issued to the Congressional Black Caucus last weekend, to take to the streets for the cause, just like during the civil rights era.

“We were gonna do it anyway in August, but it definitely is a response to the call,” Sharpton said.

Earlier, he noted that Obama told the Congressional Black Congress that “it is time to start marching again.”

“Well, those feet will be marching October 15th,” Sharpton said. “Those of us that believe that it is necessary to raise the level of drama for those that have been left out of the conversation will be marching together on that day.”

Supporters of the rally include the American Federation of Teachers and the Communications Workers of America.

CNN’s Tom Cohen contributed to this report.