Juneteenth Leadership Coalition Launches "Drive To Justice" Motorcades And Marches Across More Than 30 Cities And Reservations For A National Day Of Action
NEW YORK, June 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Juneteenth Leadership Coalition is launching a "Drive to Justice" and National Day of Action in more than 30 cities across the country to commemorate Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day. The motorcades and marches will continue the momentum of the past several weeks by demanding an end to police violence and ensuring leaders understand that Black Lives Matter.
The Juneteenth Leadership Coalition includes the Arc of Justice, SEIU/32BJ, Until Freedom, The Gathering For Justice, The Indigenous Peoples Movement, celebrities Yandy Smith and Kristen Scott, and public officials and activists including Tamika Mallory, Eric Garner's mother Gwen Carr, Reverend Mark Thompson and others.
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, the Emancipation Proclamation ? which had been issued more than two years earlier ? was read by Union Army General Gordon Granger in the last slave-holding state of Texas informing them that all enslaved peoples were freed. This year's Juneteenth comes after nearly one month of massive protests in cities across the country calling for racial justice and pressuring local officials to defund police departments.
Today beginning at 12pm EDT, 9am PDT, people in cities and reservations across America will be driving to justice in motorcades and marches along caravan routes that include key landmarks and capitol buildings. Each Drive to Justice will lift up the names of those whose lives have been stolen by police and white supremacists, especially those local to the communities where the demonstration is taking place.
They will issue these five demands:
- Investigate and Prosecute: Independent and thorough investigations and prosecutions of violent police officers.
- Demilitarize and Defund: Demilitarization and defunding of Police Departments.
- Vote and Be Counted: Complete the Census, register to vote, and mobilize for local, state and federal elections in 2020.
- Reform Legislation: New legislation at all levels of government creating standards of eligibility, screenings, training, transparency and accountability for police officers.
- Sanction: Bring economic sanctions against governments and corporations that support white supremacy.
As part of the National Day of Action, Juneteenth Drive to Justice organizers will distribute information on how to complete the 2020 Census, register to vote in this year's elections, and apply for absentee ballots on all reservations and in each state.
In Washington D.C. the demonstration will begin at the Freedom Plaza by the White House. In Atlanta, it will end at the Georgia State Capitol building. In New York City, the caravan route includes Grand Army Plaza and City Hall.
"Today's version of American policing is a direct descendant of slave patrols in the Old South. It is no accident that black people in this country continue to be harassed, abused, and even killed at the hands of police," said Arc of Justice founder Kirsten John Foy. "I am inspired by this generation of young Americans who are standing up to say enough. Today's Drive to Justice is by them and for them, and we must keep up the momentum for future generations."
"Enough is enough. It has been nearly six years to the day since my son was killed," said Gwen Carr, social justice activist and Eric Garner's mother. "George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubrey, Tony McDade. We cannot hear 'I can't breathe' one more time. Today is about standing up together, and issuing clear demands to put an end to this plague of police brutality."
"Black workers are on the frontlines of the movement to demand change," said Kyle Bragg, President of the SEIU. "Only until black workers are treated with dignity by law enforcement, and in their workplaces, will we rid ourselves of the scourge of racism. We have to be the change agents and we have to be the leaders. Today is a reminder that our work never stops because, unfortunately, too many people want to keep us down. But we should also be inspired by the outpouring of support and harness that energy to enact historic reforms."
"Movements aren't built in a day but the cries of 'I can't breathe' have ignited our movement across the country and the world," said social justice activist Tamika Mallory. "It is an opportunity for the system to be transformed and the people freed from police oppression for good. We demand change and anything less will be unacceptable to millions of black people particularly black women who will lead us into the voting booths across America in November."
"Our struggles are inherently intertwined with those of the Black Community," said Opliam, Indigenous Peoples Movement Coalition member. "Beyond our shared histories of having had our land and lives stolen by European settlers, today we are the two groups most likely to be killed at the hands of police in this country. We are proud to join the Juneteenth Leadership Coalition and demand an end to this oppression."
"George Floyd was our neighbor. He was stolen from us, from his children, from his family and friends who loved him," said Minneapolis Drive to Justice organizer Minnesota Fats. "How many countless others have died like he did, out of view of the cameras? Today we are coming together in George's home city to demand an independent and thorough investigation into his murder. Justice has eluded too many others. There will be justice for George and the countless other men and women whose lives have been stolen by the hands of the police."
Learn more about the Drive to Justice at https://www.juneteenthdrivetojustice.org/
Contact: Tusk Strategies | [email protected] | ?(929) 266-8756
SOURCE Juneteenth Leadership Coalition
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