By Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director of the Center for Community Change. Originally published on the Huffington Post.

In March, we march!

If you care about real change in Washington, it’s time to make your voice heard. We’ve heard from the special interests. We’ve heard from the tea partiers and the defenders of the status quo. Now, it’s our turn.

A broad coalition of national and local groups have announced a massive mobilization, “March for America: Change Takes Courage,” which will bring tens of thousands of people to Washington on March 21 to:

• Demand that the President and Congress keep their promise to enact comprehensive immigration reform for new American families.
• Insist that the President and Congress act boldly to make the economy work for all American families.

Throughout American history, only big and broad social movements have produced big change. From abolition to women’s suffrage, from the New Deal to civil rights, the one major lesson of American history is that it is only when thousands and thousands of people take their destiny into their own hands that entrenched special interests can be defeated and progressive policies enacted. The last year has demonstrated again that we can’t expect politicians to grow spines all by themselves, and we can’t sit back and hope for bold leadership from the people we elected to serve the country’s interest. We must instill courage and insert backbone in our leaders through massive, sustained grassroots pressure. This is the only path forward.

I have heard too many people bemoan a broken political system, and complain about how hard change has been to achieve over the last year. Despair and passivity are luxuries our communities cannot afford. There is nothing surprising about Washington’s resistance to change, and we know the formula to break the gridlock. It’s our time to step up. It’s our time to lead and take responsibility.

Our broken immigration system and the worst unemployment crisis since the Great Depression stand as festering testaments to our leaders’ lack of courage to act.

This is a pivotal moment in the history of America. We are faced with a choice. We can do nothing, and watch as new American families are torn apart by the broken immigration system; watch as profiteers continue to take advantage of people desperate for work; and watch as all American families struggle to find good jobs and make ends meet. Or we can stand up and stand together for our families and our communities.

Every day that Washington fails to address our broken immigration system and broken economy, Americans become more angry and frustrated with their leaders. Every day that we put off reforming the immigration system, more families are torn apart, workers endure more abuse, our national deficit grows as billions in tax revenue are lost and the rule of law is undermined. Every day that Congress and the President fail to address the growing economic distress in American communities is another day in which American families struggle unnecessarily.

We have no choice but to send the President and Congress a message with urgency and passion: you must keep the promises you have made. We are tired of excuses for inaction.

To everyone who believes in comprehensive immigration reform for new American families and an economy that works for all American families, we need you so that together we can show our collective power and energy. Join the March for America. Mark your calendars for Sunday, March 21. Events begin at 1 p.m. on the National Mall. I’ll see you there.

Get more information and sign up at: www.WeMarchforAmerica.org.

You can also join our cell phone network by texting the word “justice” to 69866 to receive the latest updates on the march.

Follow Deepak Bhargava on Twitter: www.twitter.com/communitychange