Monthly Anti-War Rally Launches In Essex County

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A collaborative of New Jersey organizations have announced plans to launch a monthly anti-war rally series at the MLK monument in Newark. The protests will take place on the first Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Monument on MLK Boulevard near Old Records Hall.

The theme of the monthly protests is to “End US Wars at Home and Abroad,” organizers said. The first rally in the ongoing series is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 3. Learn more here.

The idea to hold the monthly anti-war rallies grew out of a proposal at a December meeting of the People’s Organization for Progress, a grassroots organization that holds weekly meetings at the Abysinnian Baptist Church in Newark, according to one of the organizers, Bob Witanek.

“As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. pointed out, there is a facile relationship between imperialist wars abroad and poverty at home,” said Lawrence Hamm, chair of Peoples Organization for Progress.

“The latest budget put forward by the Trump administration called for a $54 billion increase in the military spending and a $54 billion decrease in spending on social programs,” Hamm said. “Martin Luther King said in his speech on the Vietnam war that we drop bombs on Vietnamese children abroad and explode the bombs of poverty at home. In the last 16 years in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq we’ve spent $5 trillion. Imagine what we could have done with $5 trillion at home. How many schools and hospitals could have been saved? How much public housing could have been funded?”

• See related article: Essex County Protesters Steamed About Military Budget, 'Trump Threats'

In addition to the People’s Organization for Progress and NJ Anti War Agenda, the monthly protests are being supported by NJPeace Action, Green Party of New Jersey, Socialist Party USA of NJ, IndustrialUnion Council of New Jersey, Union County Peace Council and Rutgers Students for Justice in Palestine.

Local community groups can call or text 908-881-5275 to learn more about supporting the rallies. Individuals interested in participating and endorsing can call 908-881-5275, write to organize@NJAntiWarAgenda.org or visit NJAntiWarAgenda.org.

Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photo courtesy of Bob Witanek

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Newark Facebook page here.