HARLEM — The National Action Network is holding a voter registration drive this weekend in New Orleans to boost the number of black voters in the upcoming November election.
Rev. Al Sharpton, who is president of the Harlem-based civil rights organization, will lead the drive in New Orleans during the 2016 The Essence Music Festival, an annual three-day event celebrating black culture which runs from July 1 through July 3.
The voter registration drive will be held July 2.
Sharpton said he wants to “protect the legacy of (President Obama) and the issues he championed,” such as criminal justice reform, voting rights and health care, by registering “millions of new voters" at what he called "the largest black gathering in America this summer."
In 2014, the festival boasted its highest turnout in 20 years with an estimated 550,000 participants, according to the Associated Press.
It’s unclear if the organization plans a similar event in Harlem. A spokesman for the organization did not respond to a request for comment.
