End Racial Profiling Feeder to the March on Washington

Join us as we gather & march to draw attention to racial profiling right here in DC.

We will gather and march as a group from Farragut Square down to the Lincoln Memorial where we will join tens of thousands across the country in celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington!

 

Fifty years ago, people demanded an end to Jim Crow and equal rights for all people of color. Today, the struggle continues. Though the old Jim Crow policies of the South are gone, we now see a prison industrial complex that feeds off Black men and women and a “justice” system that denies them basic rights before, during, and after their incarceration.

Racial profiling by police remains one of the worst problems of this system. A new study by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee has provided statistical evidence for what Black and Brown residents of D.C. have learned through bitter experience: extreme racial disparities exist in the pattern of arrests by police.

This study, and the systemic racism it uncovers, is igniting a larger fight against racism in the District. Town-hall meetings are happening around the city to publicize the results of the study and the reactions of the community. As the George Zimmermans of this world continue to get away with murder, it’s our job to fight back against the racist justice system.

No to racial profiling! No to mass incarceration! No to racism!

Confirmed speakers include: Etan Thomas, former Washington Wizard and poet Yusef Salaam, Central Park Five defendant Shujaa Graham, exonerated death row prisoner Seema Sadanadann, ACLU Stuart Anderson, Friends and Families of Incarcerated People Jazz Hayden, Campaign to End the New Jim Crow (NYC) Daquanna Harrison, Collective Power Jonathan Stith, Malcolm X Grassroots Lawrence Hayes, former death row prisoner Jamal Muhammad, We Act Radio …and others.

Peacemakers not Peace Breakers Honors the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

Save Our Schools Feeder to March on Washington

March with Save Our Schools Contingent as we join in the 50th Anniversary March for Civil Rights in DC August 24th Public Education is a Civil Right! Save Our Schools calls all supporters of Public Education join with the 50th Anniversary March for Civil Rights: A Continuation of the Battle for Jobs, Justice and Freedom! http://nationalactionnetwork.net/mow/ Meet at Farragut Square 8:00 AM Look for the Save Our Schools banner, pick up your signs and march together to the Rally Site at 8:30 Make your voice heard for jobs, justice, & freedom! Why we are Marching Public Education is a civil right! No school closings! End high stakes testing! Kids over profits-End Privatization!!! Also, join the Journey for Justice Education as a Human Rights Marches, Boycotts, and Rallies in your home city on August 28th and August 29th. Look for further details on all of these events at the SOS website and in future email updates. Join the movement to Save Our Schools! Together we can change the conversation. We can preserve and transform public education for all the children! Our mission is to build a national grassroots, people-powered movement, which preserves and transforms public education, as the cornerstone of a democratic society.

MLK 50th Anniversary Events Press Conference: The Mayor, Wal-Mart, Voter ID, and the Zimmerman Verdict

Cross-posted from DC Independent Media Center Written by Luke

On the 7th of August, Mayor Gray and city officials joined with the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington Commemorative Committee for a press conference to announce the upcoming events of August 24. The main event is at the Lincoln Memorial in the morning.

One of the organizers gave a speech condemning voter ID laws, other voter suppression and the Zimmerman verdict as examples that the problems King marched against 50 years ago are still alive and well in the US.

One of the organizers gave a speech condemning voter ID laws, other voter suppression, and the Zimmerman verdict as examples that the problems King marched against 50 years ago are still alive and well in the US.

Present in the audience were several members of groups opposing Wal-Mart, who hope that Mayor Gray will not buckle under to Wal-Mart and will sign the Large Retailer Accountability Act or LRAA. They were present so the Mayor could see them, but took no action due to the nature of the event.

The LRAA would force Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot,etc to pay $12.50 an hour in wages and benefits. Wal-Mart is demanding a veto, saying they will pull out of DC otherwise. Given that one of the demands of the original 1963 March on Washington was to raise the minimum wage, it would be highly inappropriate for the Mayor to veto the LRAA after his planned appearance in this 50th anniversary commemoration rally.

Hopefully the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s March on Washington, and the historical reality of his campaign for living wage jobs will be all the reminder the Mayor needs to sign the LRAA when the council sends it to his desk.

Major events planned for 50th anniversary of MLK March on Washington:

50th Anniversary March on Washington

Saturday August 24.

The rally will be held at the Lincoln Memorial from 8 am.-4 p.m. and the festival will be held on the National Mall from 2-6 p.m.

DC Statehood Rally

August 24, 2013

9 a.m. DC War Memorial, Independence Avenue, NW. Washington DC.

March for Jobs and Justice August 28, 2013. The march will begin at 9:30 a.m. Participants will assemble at 600 New Jersey Avenue, Washington DC at 8 a.m. and proceed to the United States Department of Labor at 200 Constitution Avenue, then to the United States Department of Justice at 950 Pennsylvania Avenue and ending at a rally on the National Mall.