ACTION TOOLKIT Thank you for your interest in March2Justice, an historic walk from NYC to DC to deliver to Congress “The Justice Package”, continue our fight for all the lives lost to police violence, and bring to justice our solutions. On Monday, April 13, 2015, we will gather in New York City and walk the 250 miles to Washington, DC. Along the way, we will make stops in towns and cities to gather and mobilize in communities and add critical mass to our growing movement for police reform and accountability. We hope that this toolkit will provide you with all the information you need to get involved, support our work, and continue the fight for justice! TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Cover Art 2 Table of Contents 3 Who We Are 4 Message from Leadership 5 Leading the March 6 M2J Route 7 Why We March 8 The Legislation 9 Get Involved 10 March With Us 11 Build With Us 12 A National Impact 13 Pledge Sheet 14 Stay Connected 15 It Is Our Duty to Fight 2 WHO WE ARE JUSTICE LEAGUE NYC is 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 and led by Executive Director Carmen Perez. Justice League NYC’s first project together was “Growing Up Locked Down” (GULD) – a 3 Day Juvenile Justice Conference at The New School in September 2014 which featured over 125 participants and had more than 600 attendees. Since December 3, JUSTICE LEAGUE NYC has been coordinating efforts in and around NYC in response to the non-indictment of Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner. We are focusing our resources in two areas – direct and peaceful actions, and the immediate implementation of a list of demands for redress and accountability. OUR VALUES VALUES OUR JUSTICE LEAGUE NYC is building a movement that is intergenerational and community-oriented. We work under the principles of Kingian nonviolence, and believe in the power of our elders’ wisdom and the youth’s energy, and we utilize both to act as catalysts for significant community change. 3 Dear Friend, “We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On behalf of our Honorary Chairs - Harry Belafonte and 1199SEIU President George Gresham - and as a valued partner in the fight to end police brutality and create law enforcement accountability, Justice League NYC officially invites your organization to participate in March2Justice - a march from NYC to Washington, DC beginning on April 13, 2015. This will undoubtedly be an epic, monumental and historic event and we hope you will join us in this endeavor. On Monday, April 13, 2015, Justice League NYC and people from across the country will gather in New York City to march to the nation's capital, stopping in key cities and towns along the route for local rallies and mobilization. We are marching to DC to demand Congress act on legislation to end racial profiling, demilitarize our police forces and invest in our communities. We are inspired and moved by young people and others across the country that continue to keep this movement alive in the name of Justice. We now want to see action from the powers-that-be – and it’s time we take the movement to them. Our voices and calls for justice, accountability, transparency, dignity and respect for all communities will ring throughout the halls of Congress. We will be heard. We will demand results. Together we will march in honor of our heroes in Selma who risked everything to bring progress to Black American communities and strived for equal access to the democratic process for all people. We acknowledge their sacrifices and know that we can only march because of the path they paved for us. If your organization is willing to join this historic effort, we would like to list you as an Endorser. Please send us the exact name of your organization as you would like it to appear on a website dedicated to the promotion of the March. We also need the name and contact person of someone we can be in touch with for updates and logistics. Please email this information to march2justice@gmail.com. If you have any questions feel free to contact the march cochairs, Tamika Mallory at (347) 266-9063 or Linda Sarsour at (917) 306-3323. As Dr. King said, “we must never turn back”. Looking forward to MARCHING with you on April 13. In Community, Carmen Perez Executive Director, The Gathering for Justice Co-Founder, Justice League NYC 4 LEADING THE MARCH Harry Belafonte and George Gresham Honorary Chairs Carmen Perez March Director Tamika D. Mallory and Linda Sarsour Co-Chairs The March Council list in formation Coordinating Committee Seson Adams, Omar Al-Chaar, Rameen Aminzadeh, Marvin Bing, Jr., LaMon Bland, Gregory Cendana, Rashad Drakeford, Cassady Fendlay, Michelina Ferrara, Alida Garcia, Darius Gordon, Julianne Hoffenberg, Mysonne Linen, Elizabeth O'Keefe, Angelo Pinto, Chris Quincy, Fatima Rahmati, Michael Skolnik, Lindsay Wagner, Damien Walters, Shanelle Washington and Ny Whitaker 5 MARCH2JUSTICE ROUTE NEW YORK –> NEW JERSEY –> PENNSYLVANIA –> DELAWARE –> MARYLAND –> DC 250 miles 5 states 1 Justice Package Will you join us as a Justice Champion? We must walk from 8AM-6PM – with lunch and rest breaks in between - each day in our attempt to reach DC in 7-8 days. We will be staying in places of worship along the route. This will be a tremendous mental and physical sacrifice, but a necessary and significant labor of love in the name of Justice. Walk with us or support us in our journey. - For a day by day itinerary, please visit march2justice.com - 6 WHY WE MARCH We march in solidarity with our elders, our youth, our incarcerated brothers and sisters, and the families and communities of those impacted by police brutality. We march on behalf of Eric Garner. And Akai Gurley. And Jessie Hernandez. And Rekia Boyd. And Tamir Rice. And Michael Brown. And Renisha McBride. And London Colvin. And John Crawford III. And Miriam Carey. And Anthony Baez. And Ramarley Graham. And the countless, but not forgotten others, who have lost their lives to police brutality. One of the most important aspects of the #MARCH2JUSTICE will be the opportunity to raise our collective voices and mobilize support in communities and Congress towards passage of what we are calling “The Justice Package”. The Justice Package consists of 3 pieces of federal legislation: • The Youth PROMISE Act • The End Racial Profiling Act • Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act 7 THE JUSTICE PACKAGE Learn more about each of the legislative imperatives we support: • JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION ACT (JJDPA): Protecting Children and Providing for Our Communities The JJDPA creates a federal-state partnership for the administration of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention by providing: juvenile justice planning and advisory system, a federal funding plan for delinquency prevention and improvements in state and local juvenile justice programs. The JJDPA also sets forth federal standards to ensure a minimum level of safety and equitable treatment for youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system. MORE HERE • MILITARIZATION BILL: (Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act) (H.R. 5478) - Amends the program under which the Secretary of Defense is authorized to transfer excess personal property of the Department of Defense (DOD) to federal and state agencies for law enforcement activities. Excludes counter-drug activities from the categories of law enforcement activities for which DOD property may be transferred under such program. The legislation lays out a number of changes to current law, and details can be found HERE • END RACIAL PROFILING ACT: (The End Racial Profiling Act (ERPA)) (H.R. 2851), would prohibit the use of profiling on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin or religion by law enforcement agencies. MORE HERE 8 GET INVOLVED IN MARCH2JUSTICE! 5 Action Steps to Participation! 1. MARCH WITH US! Walk the entire way or join us for a part of the journey. 2. JOIN OUR COALITION! Become a partner and let the world know you support the March2Justice. 3. SPONSOR A JUSTICE CHAMPION! OR HELP US WITH DONATIONS! For $1000 you can sponsor one walker for the entire journey. Help us provide the necessary supplies, food, and shelter throughout our journey. To donate or support in fundraising, check out our Sponsor Sheet. Help us solidify donations! We need new sneakers, fitness equipment, sleeping bags, & more to make this trip possible, can you or your business help us? Visit our Justice League Wishlist here. 4. MEET US IN DC! Join us April 21-22 as we present The Justice Package to our elected officials in our nation’s capital! 5. Can’t march with us? JOIN US FOR A NATIONAL ECONOMIC SHUTDOWN! We are asking that from April 13 - 20, while we march, people from communities around the country pledge to forego public transportation and WALK with us in solidarity from your own home towns. 9 MARCH WITH US! “If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. JUSTICE CHAMPION LEVEL Commit to joining us on the entire journey. We anticipate the entire march will take us between 7-9 days. We must walk at a consistent pace from 8AM-6PM daily. Fill out the registration form here. JUSTICE SEEKER LEVEL Commit to joining us for a part of our journey. Can you be with us from NYC to Newark? Or will you meet us in Philly and come to DC? This is the level where you choose your commitment both in time and ability. Fill out the registration form here. JUSTICE SUPPORTER LEVEL Commit to stepping off with us in NYC or greeting us in DC! Help join the community of people seeing us off at a Justice Rally on Sunday evening and a JUSTICE STEP OFF at 9AM on Monday morning! More details for DC Rally & Welcome coming soon! Fill out the registration form here. 10 BUILD WITH US! Are you a part of an organization that works on issues of police accountability or community empowerment? Join us as a March Endorser to help us spread our message of change! Together, we will raise our voices toward Justice! Email march2justice@gmail.com to get your organization on the list. 11 WALK IN YOUR CITY! A NATIONAL ECONOMIC BOYCOTT We are marching to Washington DC from New York City to deliver a legislative package that will result in significant policy reforms and systemic changes to the communities most in need. Critical to our success is the engagement of masses of people to support our efforts. While we are hopeful that we may have thousands join us for the full journey, we know this may not be feasible for everyone. But your participation is still necessary for our cause. For those who cannot join us in person, we are asking that you forego use of all public transportation while we march - walk, bike, boycott, stay home - do anything you can to not use public transportation during this time. Let us send a message to the political and economic powers-that-be that we will use our collective power in pursuit of justice for all. IT IS TIME FOR US TO INVEST IN OUR COMMUNITIES. Visit our website for a list of creative ways to participate. The time is now. Join Us! 12 13 STAY CONNECTED WITH US! JUSTICE LEAGUE NYC NYJUSTICELEAGUE @NYJus1ceLeague MARCH2JUSTICE.COM MARCH2JUSTICE@GMAIL.COM Use any of these hashtags to let your communities know about March2Justice! #March2Justice #WhyWeMarch #JusticeLeagueNYC 14 IT IS OUR DUTY TO FIGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM IT IS OUR DUTY TO WIN WE MUST LOVE AND PROTECT ONE ANOTHER WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT OUR CHAINS {ASSATA SHAKUR} 15
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