NEW START DATE FOR LONG MARCH TO TRENTON: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2021

THE LONG MARCH FOR JUSTICE: March To Trenton For Police Accountability, Social Justice, And Economic Progress will take place on Friday, October 8, 2021. The previous start date was October 11th. The march is being called by People’s Organization For Progress.

It will start 11:00am at the intersection of Church Street and Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair, New Jersey.

“We decided on an earlier start date to give ourselves more time to get to Trenton, and extra time to deal with the unexpected such as bad weather or possible emergencies,” stated Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress.

The march route is approximately 67 miles long and will wind its way through 22 towns and cities. The largest portion of the march route proceeds along Route 27 South and Route 206 South.

The march is expected to end 1:00pm, Saturday, October 16th, at the State House in Trenton, New Jersey.

The march has been endorsed by Newark Communities For Accountable Policing, Black Lives Matter of NJ, Black Lives Matter Paterson, Atlantic City Chapter of the National Action Network, Trenton Anti-Violence Coalition, Our Revolution of Trenton- Mercer County, New Jersey Chapter of the Poor People’s Campaign, Salvation and Social Justice, Latino Action Network, and Equal Rights and Justice Radio Show (on WBAI Radio 99.5FM).

“We are walking from Montclair to Trenton to highlight the issue of police brutality and to demand the NJ Legislature pass legislation to hold police accountable,” stated Hamm, who will attempt to walk the entire distance.

“First and foremost we demand passage of A4656/S2963, the police review boards with subpoena power bill,” Hamm said.

There are other police related initiatives that POP wants to highlight and support during the march.

These include a bill to make officer disciplinary records public (S2656); a bill banning and criminalizing chokeholds (S2617); a bill establishing requirements for use of deadly force (A4526/S3825); and a bill ending qualified immunity in New Jersey (A4578/3730).

The group is also demanding that Governor Murphy veto a bill that would allow police to view bodycam footage before issuing their reports (S3939).

“At the national level we are calling for the passage of HR 1280, the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act,” he said.

This bill passed by the House of Representatives would create a nationwide data base for police misconduct; require racial profiling training of officers; create nationwide standards for police use of force; eliminate no knock warrants; ban the use of chokeholds; and eliminate qualified immunity for police.

“We are also marching for racial, social and economic justice. We demand that African-Americans receive reparations for slavery in the United States,” Hamm said.

POP is demanding the passage of A711/S322 by the NJ Legislature and HR40/S40 by Congress. These bills would create reparations study commissions at the state and national levels.

“We are marching against all forms of voter suppression. We demand passage of voting rights legislation including the For The People Act (HR 1) and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (HR 4),” he said.

“Once again we are calling for abolition of the Senate filibuster rule which we believe is the prerequisite to the passage of the voting rights bills,” Hamm said.

“We are also marching for economic justice. We demand passage of a $15 federal minimum wage and the passage of the PRO Act to facilitate worker unionization,” he stated.

The march route will proceed through the following towns and cities: Montclair, Orange, East Orange, Irvington, Newark, Elizabeth, Roselle, Linden, Rahway, Edison, Metuchen, Iselin, Highland Park, New Brunswick, Somerset, North Brunswick, Franklin Township, Kendall Park, Princeton, Lawrence Township, Ewing, and Trenton.

POP invites those who support the mission and objectives of the march to participate. Each individual can determine for themselves how far they want to walk.

The group is soliciting volunteers and additional organizational co-sponsors for the march.