March For Racial Justice - Washington, DC

Lincoln Park
US Capitol
Washington, DC 20003
United States
September 30, 2017, 12:00 pm

M4RJ Mission & Vision
Our mission is to harness the national unrest and dissatisfaction with racial injustice into a national mobilization that strengthens local and nationwide efforts for racial equity and justice.

We are mobilizing a coalition of organizations, groups and individuals to stand together for racial justice on September 30 in Washington, DC. We invite you to stand with us. Our vision is simple: to create a just and equitable future for communities of color, so that we may all thrive together.

Background
Over the past few years, the movement against racist policing tactics and police killings has transformed the U.S. political terrain and brought much needed attention to police brutality that is endemic in the U.S. At the heart of this movement has been a crying call for justice for victims of this inhumane system that disproportionately target Black, Brown and Native peoples.

For generations, we have marched, sat-in, walked-out, blocked bridges, protested, and educated our communities about these issues in a struggle to transform the policies that produces these injustices. Yet, case after case, local and federal governments, the courts, police districts, and district attorneys have failed to deliver justice. Moreover, we have witnessed a selective, so-called "Blue Lives Matter" police backlash that aims to further institute racist policing practices and worsen police accountability to our communities. This year alone, there have been 32 “Blue Lives Matter” Bills proposed in 14 states across the country, despite the fact the police already benefit from a protected class status and are rarely held accountable for gross miscarriages of justice. Even the few gains related to reforms that have been won over the years are being rolled back by the Trump administration under the leadership of Jeff Sessions, in favor of policies that are proven failures. The cost of these failures is levied most heavily against Black, Brown and Native communities causing disproportionate representation of these populations in the criminal justice system; perpetuating and contributing to economic and political disenfranchisement; and infringing upon the life and liberties of people within these communities.

These policy rollbacks are occurring in a context where white supremacists, Nazis, and the so-called "alt-right" are openly marching, recruiting members, and terrorizing communities of color, Muslim, Jewish and other religious minorities. We aim to hold state and federal agencies accountable for their contribution to inequity and racial injustice. We are standing and bearing witness.

We are bearing witness to an interlocking system of state-sanctioned violence reliant upon government agencies and civilian control mechanisms including Fraternal Order of Police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, and the Department of Justice.

We are bearing witness to mass incarceration, the unequal treatment under the law and the state-sanctioned destruction of Black, Brown and Native lives.

We are bearing witness to increased state-sanctioned and interpersonal violence against trans people and attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer civil rights protections.

We are bearing witness to increased violence against Muslim communities abroad and at home and the erosion of their civil rights in the racist and Islamophobic “war against terrorism”.

We are bearing witness to the normalization of rape culture, increased violence against women and infringement upon their rights to control their bodies, and the lack of equal pay for equal work, all overly impacting women of color.

We are bearing witness to the continued injustices and land grabs endured by Native peoples as demonstrated by the protest at Standing Rock.

We are bearing witness to the disenfranchisement and for-profit criminalization of the poor.

We are bearing witness to the inhuman treatment of people with disabilities, of the working class and low-income by threatening and barring access to affordable healthcare.

We are bearing witness to the criminalization of immigrants, undocumented and documented.

We are bearing witness to the continued criminalization of Black, Brown and Native lives.

We are bearing witness to youth of color being traumatized and stripped of their humanity by state sanctioned violence at the hands of law enforcement, our educational system, juvenile justice system and other institutions and who are subjected to a negative violent/ dehumanizing/ criminalizing narrative by society. 

We are bearing witness to environmental degradation and lack of infrastructure in times of natural disasters harming Native and people of color communities.

We are bearing witness to a resurgence of antisemitism and hate speech.

And we say #notonemore. Not one more death. Not one more victim. Not one more injustice perpetuated by racist laws and policies.

The March for Racial Justice is a multi-community movement led by a coalition united in our demands for racial equity and justice. We march because as long as U.S. laws, policies, and practices remain steeped in racism and white supremacy, basic human rights and civil rights for all—our universal and constitutional rights—will never be fully realized. It is our duty then to dismantle oppression, and to challenge, reverse and put an end to racist laws, policies and practices that dehumanize people of color while sustaining white supremacy and racism.

The Date: September 30, A Solemn Anniversary
September 30 marks the anniversary of the Elaine Massacre in Elaine, Arkansas. The Massacre was part of a series of racist massacres and lynchings during the Red Summer of 1919. Black soldiers returning from fighting in WWI would no longer tolerate the inhumane treatment, racism and terrorism that greeted their return to the U.S. They resisted this treatment and demanded their civil rights be honored and upheld by their country.

Instead of having their rights respected, they were met by murderous white mobs, many of whom were sanctioned by a white supremacist state. These brave Black men and women fought, against all odds, for the protection of their families, communities and liberty. Their deaths and imprisonment highlighted the foundation of white supremacy in our justice system as not one person from lynching mobs was ever imprisoned for committing these criminal acts. On September 30, we mourn their lives and honor their resistance. The courage of their resistance reverberates through the generations and inspires our struggle today.