Marchers are ending an eight-day journey across 250 miles and five states to deliver anti-profiling and police-force-militarization legislation from New York City to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
More than 100 protesters gathered just outside New York City on Monday, beginning a march from New York to Washington, D.C., to deliver to legislators what is being called the “Justice Package,” including “three pieces of legislation calling for an end to racial profiling, stopping the militarization of our local police forces, and demanding the government invest in our youth and communities.” Those marching wore T-shirts saying “I can’t breathe” and held signs reading “#BlackLivesMatter.”
One marcher, 19-year-old Sade Swift, told the Huffington Post that she was joining the march because she is “tired of creating hashtags,” for unarmed black men killed by the police. Another, Rachel Goldstein, says “I march because Michael Brown can’t.”
The “March2Justice” lists 10 reasons for the march, including a call for an end to the school to prison pipeline, a call for the end of violence again people of color, including transgender people women of color who “ disproportionate impact they endure by all forms of violence, including police violence.” March2Justice also hopes to raise awareness and end police brutality, citing that “every 28 hours a Black person is killed at the hands of the police, security guards or neighborhood watch.”
The March passed through Trenton, New Jersey, yesterday and gathered at the Gandhi Peace Garden before moving on to the New Jersey State House. Marchers are calling on those in the Washington, D.C. area to join them on Tuesday the 21st when they reach the Capitol for a rally, where a program is planned with “legendary civil rights leaders, hip hop artists and the marchers themselves.”
Media Resources: Huffington Post 4/13/15; March2Justice Facebook Event; March2Justice.com; NewsOne.com 4/15/15;
