SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Seeking Systemic Reform, Civil Rights Activists Embark on 250-Mile Justice March
'We march for our lives and for the livelihood of our communities,' says march director Carmen Perez
Apr 13, 2015
Proponents of criminal justice reform began a nine-day, 250-mile march from New York City to Washington, D.C. on Monday, seeking to end racial profiling, demilitarize local police departments, and "tear down the societal and institutional pillars of mass incarceration."
The 'March 2 Justice,' spearheaded by the grassroots group Justice League NYC, started Monday morning in Staten Island, where Eric Garner was killed by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo in July 2014. The Justice League, a task force of juvenile and criminal justice experts, advocates, artists, and formerly incarcerated individuals, brought together under the banner of the Gathering for Justice, a social justice organization founded by Harry Belafonte in 2005, was active in organizing the protests that followed Pantaleo's non-indictment.
Once they reach the nation's capital, those participating in the march--who include students, clergy, civil rights activists, and elected officials--will lobby Congress in support of a "Justice Package"--three pieces of federal legislation that dovetail with the movement's goals:
- The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Protection Act, the nation's main juvenile justice law, which is currently more than six years overdue for reauthorization;
- The Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act (HR 5478), which would amend the program under which the Secretary of Defense is authorized to transfer excess personal property of the Department of Defense (DOD)--such as automatic weapons or armored vehicles--to federal and state agencies for law enforcement activities;
- The End Racial Profiling Act (HR 2851), which would prohibit any law enforcement agent or agency from engaging in racial profiling.
"We march to shed a light on the national crisis of police brutality and the system that allows it to continue," said march director Carmen Perez, who also heads Gathering for Justice. "We march for our lives and for the livelihood of our communities."
Watch others declare why they are marching in this video, produced by the March 2 Justice organizers, who encouraged others to upload their own #WhyWeMarch videos:
Follow the marchers, who planned to rally in Newark on Monday evening, on Twitter under the hashtag #March2Justice:
In a separate but related development, Grammy-winning singer John Legend (whose song, "Glory," provides the soundtrack to the #WhyWeMarch video) on Monday launched what he is calling a multi-year campaign to end mass incarceration.
In an interview with the Associated Press about his Free America initiative, Legend said: "We have a serious problem with incarceration in this country. It's destroying families, it's destroying communities and we're the most incarcerated country in the world, and when you look deeper and look at the reasons we got to this place, we as a society made some choices politically and legislatively, culturally to deal with poverty, deal with mental illness in a certain way and that way usually involves using incarceration."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Proponents of criminal justice reform began a nine-day, 250-mile march from New York City to Washington, D.C. on Monday, seeking to end racial profiling, demilitarize local police departments, and "tear down the societal and institutional pillars of mass incarceration."
The 'March 2 Justice,' spearheaded by the grassroots group Justice League NYC, started Monday morning in Staten Island, where Eric Garner was killed by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo in July 2014. The Justice League, a task force of juvenile and criminal justice experts, advocates, artists, and formerly incarcerated individuals, brought together under the banner of the Gathering for Justice, a social justice organization founded by Harry Belafonte in 2005, was active in organizing the protests that followed Pantaleo's non-indictment.
Once they reach the nation's capital, those participating in the march--who include students, clergy, civil rights activists, and elected officials--will lobby Congress in support of a "Justice Package"--three pieces of federal legislation that dovetail with the movement's goals:
- The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Protection Act, the nation's main juvenile justice law, which is currently more than six years overdue for reauthorization;
- The Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act (HR 5478), which would amend the program under which the Secretary of Defense is authorized to transfer excess personal property of the Department of Defense (DOD)--such as automatic weapons or armored vehicles--to federal and state agencies for law enforcement activities;
- The End Racial Profiling Act (HR 2851), which would prohibit any law enforcement agent or agency from engaging in racial profiling.
"We march to shed a light on the national crisis of police brutality and the system that allows it to continue," said march director Carmen Perez, who also heads Gathering for Justice. "We march for our lives and for the livelihood of our communities."
Watch others declare why they are marching in this video, produced by the March 2 Justice organizers, who encouraged others to upload their own #WhyWeMarch videos:
Follow the marchers, who planned to rally in Newark on Monday evening, on Twitter under the hashtag #March2Justice:
In a separate but related development, Grammy-winning singer John Legend (whose song, "Glory," provides the soundtrack to the #WhyWeMarch video) on Monday launched what he is calling a multi-year campaign to end mass incarceration.
In an interview with the Associated Press about his Free America initiative, Legend said: "We have a serious problem with incarceration in this country. It's destroying families, it's destroying communities and we're the most incarcerated country in the world, and when you look deeper and look at the reasons we got to this place, we as a society made some choices politically and legislatively, culturally to deal with poverty, deal with mental illness in a certain way and that way usually involves using incarceration."
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Proponents of criminal justice reform began a nine-day, 250-mile march from New York City to Washington, D.C. on Monday, seeking to end racial profiling, demilitarize local police departments, and "tear down the societal and institutional pillars of mass incarceration."
The 'March 2 Justice,' spearheaded by the grassroots group Justice League NYC, started Monday morning in Staten Island, where Eric Garner was killed by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo in July 2014. The Justice League, a task force of juvenile and criminal justice experts, advocates, artists, and formerly incarcerated individuals, brought together under the banner of the Gathering for Justice, a social justice organization founded by Harry Belafonte in 2005, was active in organizing the protests that followed Pantaleo's non-indictment.
Once they reach the nation's capital, those participating in the march--who include students, clergy, civil rights activists, and elected officials--will lobby Congress in support of a "Justice Package"--three pieces of federal legislation that dovetail with the movement's goals:
- The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Protection Act, the nation's main juvenile justice law, which is currently more than six years overdue for reauthorization;
- The Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act (HR 5478), which would amend the program under which the Secretary of Defense is authorized to transfer excess personal property of the Department of Defense (DOD)--such as automatic weapons or armored vehicles--to federal and state agencies for law enforcement activities;
- The End Racial Profiling Act (HR 2851), which would prohibit any law enforcement agent or agency from engaging in racial profiling.
"We march to shed a light on the national crisis of police brutality and the system that allows it to continue," said march director Carmen Perez, who also heads Gathering for Justice. "We march for our lives and for the livelihood of our communities."
Watch others declare why they are marching in this video, produced by the March 2 Justice organizers, who encouraged others to upload their own #WhyWeMarch videos:
Follow the marchers, who planned to rally in Newark on Monday evening, on Twitter under the hashtag #March2Justice:
In a separate but related development, Grammy-winning singer John Legend (whose song, "Glory," provides the soundtrack to the #WhyWeMarch video) on Monday launched what he is calling a multi-year campaign to end mass incarceration.
In an interview with the Associated Press about his Free America initiative, Legend said: "We have a serious problem with incarceration in this country. It's destroying families, it's destroying communities and we're the most incarcerated country in the world, and when you look deeper and look at the reasons we got to this place, we as a society made some choices politically and legislatively, culturally to deal with poverty, deal with mental illness in a certain way and that way usually involves using incarceration."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy