UULMNJ is co-sponsoring the Million People’s March Against Police Brutality, Racial Injustice, and Economic Inequality. The march is Saturday, July 25, at 12:00 noon, beginning at the Lincoln Monument at the intersection of West Market Street and Springfield Avenue in Newark, New Jersey. This event is organized by the People’s Organization for Progress. Flyers and additional information are being sent to your congregational liaisons and through our mailings. Bring a bus full from your congregation. This is an excellent opportunity for UU’s across the state to stand up together in body and spirit in support for racial justice. Don your “Standing on the Side of Love” shirts and come march behind our UULMNJ “Black Lives Matter” banner as we live out our values together. We hope to see you there.
Register today to:
Here is important information if you will be joining us in Newark:
- The March will begin with speakers at 12:00. The march will step off at 1:30 PM. It will be followed by more speakers at the end. If you have trouble standing for long periods of time and don’t intend to march, you may want to bring a portable folding chair;
- The actual march will be 3 miles in length —1.5 miles to the Federal Building at 970 Broad Street and back. You can join all or half of the event or listen to the speakers;
- If you are taking the train, the site is approximately a 6 block walk from Penn Station;
- Another option is to park at the Grove Street Park n Ride lot in Bloomfield then take the Light Rail from Grove Street to Washington Street. This station is two blocks from the monument. Daily parking rates at the Grove lot are $2. Light rail fair is $1.50 adult and $0.70 senior one way;
- If you would like to march with UU’s around the state, we will meet on the corner of UNIVERSITY AVE. and WEST MARKET STREET. We will begin gathering at 11:00. We will have the UULMNJ Black Lives Matter banner and signs for you to carry. Please bring paper tube rolls (like from wrapping paper. you can also create these by tightly rolling a piece of poster board) to post and carry the signs. Also bring water, sun block if needed, and sustenance;
- If you plan to drive there is paid parking throughout the neighborhood. Bus parking has been designated in Lot A on West Market Street. To get to the neighborhood using a GPS system use 303 University Avenue (Essex County College) or 50 West Market Street (Veterans Courthouse).
- Just a reminder, this is a grass roots effort. There are no corporate sponsors or celebrities. It is truly power to the people by the people. Accordingly, there will be a voluntary collection taken before the march to help defray costs. So if someone approaches you with a bucket for contributions, please help out.
The purpose of the march is to draw attention to the problem of police brutality; to demand an end to the murder of unarmed people, the use of excessive force, and the violation of people’s constitutional rights by police; to demand justice for the victims of police brutality; to demand fundamental and significant changes in the polices, practices, procedures, laws, structures and institutions related to policing and the criminal justice system in order to prevent these abuses by the police; to demand an end to racial injustice and economic inequality which are root causes of police brutality and to highlight the interrelationship of this struggle with those related to employment, housing, healthcare, education, war, and other important issues; and to help build a mass movement in this country that can exert the political and social pressure necessary to bring about the positive societal changes we seek.
The march is organized by People’s Organization For Progress (POP), a grassroots volunteer group that works for racial, social, economic justice and peace. It has been endorsed by community, labor, student, and progressive organizations. More than 40 groups and leaders have endorsed the event thus far. Recently, a press conference was held where the march was endorsed by Ras Baraka, Mayor of the City of Newark, and Dr. Cornel West.
“We’re trying to assert our humanity. If you look at what happened in Baltimore, it’s appropriate that the march is not just about police brutality, but it’s also about economic inequality, and inequality, period.” – Ras Baraka [read more]
If you are planning to attend the march please go to the March Facebook page. Please “Join” it, “Invite Friends” to join it, and share it. Please click the links below to see articles and video clips from our most recent press conference.
Planning for the march takes place at POP meetings every Thursday, 6:30 p.m. at Abyssinian Baptist Church,224 West Kinney Street, Newark, New Jersey. I invite you and members of your organization to attend.