Racial Justice

Your voice is represented at the 2020 March on Washington

Starting this morning, thousands of people like you are gathering in Washington, D.C. to demand a federal response to the unjust treatment of Black and brown Americans. The rally also marks the 57th anniversary of the 1968 March on Washington – one of the most important civil rights demonstrations in U.S. history. It was the same event where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

As it was those 57 years ago, we are a country still struggling to end racism and discrimination. Today’s rally, the Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks, is about the ongoing racial violence, police brutality, voter disenfranchisement and systemic racism that plagues our country. Attendees are demanding justice and advocating for change.

Your voice and your passion for justice will be represented at today’s event, even if you can’t be there in person. By signing and sharing critical petitions, you’ve stood up for many of the families that will be attending and speaking today, and the many untold stories. Here’s how you and the Change.org community are connected to today’s event:

  • Eric Garner’s daughter, Emerald, led a petition to get the officer who killed her father fired from the NYPD. After that campaign was successful, she launched a second petition to fight for a ban on the type of chokehold that killed her father.
  • Jacob Blake was shot by police 7 times in Kenosha, Wisconsin this past week, in front of his three children. Jacob’s family will be in Washington, and they are supported by the more than 750,000 people who signed a petition launched by an activist named Brooke who wants the officers who shot Jacob charged with attempted murder.
  • The tragic murder of 23-year-old Elijah McClain is also central to today’s fight for racial justice. A petition demanding justice now has over 5.5 million signatures and over 4,000 calls have been made to decision-makers this week.
  • 93-year-old Ms. Opal Lee and her campaign to make Juneteenth a national holiday grabbed national headlines this summer. Ms. Opal is in Washington D.C. today to continue to pressure Congress to formalize June 19th as a national holiday.

Here are 4 ways you can support the demonstration:

  1. Watch and share the livestream on the NAACP website: https://2020march.com.
  2. Watch and share a live-broadcast of the Black National Convention starting at 7pm ET: https://blacknovember.org.
  3. Check that you are registered to vote in the 2020 Presidential Election.
  4. Sign and share T.C. Matthew’s petition to demand federal police reform.

Written by
Change.org
August 28, 2020 7:41 am