New School students plan to join more than 100 other participants in a week-long march from New York City to Washington D.C. in April, walking the equivalent of a marathon a day, to protest the recent spate of high-profile killings by police across the country.
Participants in the march, dubbed March2Justice, will set off on their 250-mile walk south on April 13, stopping at rallies and churches along the way, until they reach the capital. On April 21, organizers will host a large rally and concert on the National Mall, they said.
New Schoolers were drawn to the march partly because of the recent Black Lives Matter demonstrations and the powerful political moments they saw during them.
Azizi Curtis, a New School student who has registered for the April march, was deeply affected by a die-in during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day demonstration in which a row of black men at the front of the procession linked arms and collapsed all at once as if they’d been gunned down, he said.
“People watching started crying and I got goosebumps,” he said.
Carly Heywood, a Parsons first-year fashion design student, is also considering joining the march.
“I want to continue that effort,” she said. “I want to add this movement to something I did in my life.”
On March 12, Students of the African Diaspora (SOAD) and March2Justice youth organizers hosted a “Pre-Kick Off College Rally” at the University Center to raise awareness about the upcoming march. About 25 people attended the event, including “Love and Hip-Hop” reality television stars Remy Ma and Mendeecees.
“We got all 25 people that were there to follow us online and sign up,” said Sade Swift, a Lang sophomore and March2Justice youth organizer.
“It was a great turn out,” said SOAD President and Lang junior Karen Louviere. “Very intimate, especially with the small circle.”
Students planning to participate in the eight-day march may have to weigh the costs of missing work and classes.
“I have a job now as a student caller,” said Carley Heywood. “Its an on-campus job, but I don’t know how they operate when it comes to marches or if they’re going to let me go because they have an absentee policy and I need that money.”
The March2Justice youth organizers say they are in conversation with New School administrators, but have not yet received word as to whether the school will pardon students for work or classes missed due to the march.
For those who cannot march, the Justice League NYC is sponsoring a nationwide “shutdown” encouraging protesters and activists to march in their communities and refrain from using transportation or shopping. The idea: to demonstrate solidarity among the marchers and protestors around the country.
The Justice League of NYC is a task force of 25 activists, justice advocates and formerly incarcerated individuals drawn from the ranks of The Gathering for Justice, a non-profit social justice organization founded by civil rights activist and performer Harry Belafonte in 2005.
The March 2 Justice is scheduled to take eight days, with participants walking 20 to 30 miles a day, the equivalent of a marathon. To protect the health and safety of marchers, the Justice League has arranged for emergency paramedics, doctors, nurses, food supplies, and vans to accompany the march, and contacted local and state authorities to plan the route.
“Right now we are in conversation with state police in the five states that march will be passing through,” said Carmen Perez, co-founder of Justice League NYC, at a March 10 planning meeting.
Participants will sleep every night in churches throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Washington D.C.
Organizers say the march will Justice League NYC roughly $1,000 per marcher to fund. The organization is holding fundraising events every Thursday from 6 to 11 at The Royal Bar near 13th street and Fourth Avenue. In addition, marchers are encouraged to find sponsors for their personal journeys. However, no marcher will be obligated to pay for their participation.
Marchers will be provided food, sleep and a ride back home if they complete the march, Swift said.
“You don’t pay anything,” she added.
“I’m so passionate about this work and this march because I don’t know if I’m going to make it home tonight,” Swift added. “I don’t know if I’m going to make it out of my house because I may look suspicious. That’s a reality that a lot of people face.”
Swift said the trip’s itinerary is not yet public but will be available within the next week. Interested parties can check the group’s website: http://march2justice.com.
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