Rev. Al Sharpton tells March on Washington crowd he “knew” Shirley Chisolm’s youth director, comparing her to Ocasio-Cortez introduction

Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the organizers of this year’s March on Washington, compared New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to the late Democratic congresswoman and presidential candidate Shirley Chisolm while introducing Ocasio-Cortez at the event on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2026.

Sharpton delivered the remarks from the stage during the voting-rights-focused march and used the comparison as part of his introduction of Ocasio-Cortez to the crowd, according to a report by The Hill. Sharpton said, “I know people, I was Shirley Chisolm’s youth director,” and then proceeded to draw the parallel between Ocasio-Cortez and Chisolm, the report said.

The March on Washington, which has been organized by civil-rights leaders and advocates in recent iterations with an emphasis on voting access and election participation, included remarks from multiple speakers, and Ocasio-Cortez appeared as one of the featured figures, The Hill reported. Sharpton’s comments were delivered during the portion of the program where speakers were introduced to attendees.

The Hill’s account framed the moment as an intergenerational comparison tying Chisolm, who ran for president in 1972, to Ocasio-Cortez’s current role in Congress. The comparison was made explicitly by Sharpton during the event, rather than through legislation, court filings, or other formal political actions.

Ocasio-Cortez’s appearance at the march came amid an ongoing national debate over federal voting-rights enforcement and election administration. Sharpton’s comparison to Chisolm was presented in a speech context rather than as a statement associated with a specific bill or executive action, and the report did not describe any accompanying policy proposal tied to the remarks.

The Hill did not describe whether Sharpton’s comparison referenced any particular legislative record of Ocasio-Cortez, but instead treated it as a speech-based introduction grounded in Sharpton’s personal account about his relationship with Chisolm. The report provided the quoted line attributed to Sharpton but did not include additional documentary evidence in the article.

A full transcript or video of Sharpton’s remarks was not included in the published report, and no primary documentation was identified in the material provided. As a result, the comparison’s exact wording beyond the quoted line, and any references to specific voting-rights issues or policy proposals included in Sharpton’s full remarks, would require confirmation through the event’s official recording or transcript.