New Jersey Activists March 67 Miles To Demand Police Reform

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — It was a long march, indeed. But that’s nothing new for one of North Jersey’s most ardent activists, Lawrence Hamm.

Last weekend, Hamm – a former U.S. Senate candidate and founder of the People’s Organization for Progress (POP) – completed a 67-mile march on foot through 22 towns on his way to Trenton, including Newark, Montclair, Orange, East Orange and Irvington. The largest portion of the march route proceeded along Route 27 South and Route 206 South.

The campaign, dubbed “The Long March for Justice,” was held to demand police reform in New Jersey, along with several other social justice reforms. It gathered support from dozens of protesters, each of whom joined the march at different points.

“We are walking to highlight the issue of police brutality and to demand the New Jersey Legislature pass legislation to hold police accountable,” Hamm explained prior to the march.

The Long March For Justice was originally conceived as Hamm’s nod to his own past as an activist, with the 67 miles corresponding to his age. But along the way, it grew into something larger, according to the POP. Read More: NJ 'Radical' Celebrates 50 Years Of Activism – By Protesting

After beginning his sojourn in Montclair on Oct. 8, Hamm arrived at the Statehouse in Trenton on Saturday. And he wasn’t alone.

One of the marchers who joined Hamm was Tyrone Lockett, whose disability requires him to walk with crutches. But Lockett courageously walked several legs of the trek, the group said – and he wasn’t the only one who found strength through the journey.

According to the POP:

“It regenerated the zeal of Atlantic City’s Steve Young, who was determined to lift the profile of New Jersey arm of the National Action Network. Young marched ‘every step of the way,’ just as he vowed to at its inception. It added to the shining twilight of senior social justice champions like the Rev. Herbert Daughtry, who jumped in the march in New Brunswick and did two miles at age 90. It enhanced the passion and commitment of a number of rank-and-file activists who had never done a protest before with these arduous dimensions, like Keilan and Winnie Scott, a young couple from Teaneck who endured a horrible police incident in Fort Lee in August 2018 that garnered little media attention, challenging them to personally get involved with the issue in their own Bergen County and elsewhere.”

Along the way, Hamm and the other activists picked up endorsements from more than 30 social justice groups, local clergy and the mayors of East Orange, Irvington, Hillside and Highland Park. He also saw support from several families who have lost loved ones to police violence, some of whom were with the procession when they arrived in Trenton.

Although the march called for a broad range of reforms, ranging from slavery reparations to federal voting rights protections to a $15 minimum wage, there was also a specific mission in mind: to pressure the NJ State Legislature to pass a package of key police reform bills. Those bills include the Civilian Review Board Bill, A-4656, put forward by Assemblywoman Angela McKnight, which would mandate a strong civilian review board for any community who seeks one.

Other legislation the marchers supported include a bill to make officer disciplinary records public (S-2656); a bill banning and criminalizing chokeholds (S-2617); a bill establishing requirements for use of deadly force (A-4526/S-3825); and a bill ending qualified immunity in New Jersey (A-4578/3730). Marchers also demanded that Gov. Phil Murphy veto a bill that would allow police to view bodycam footage before issuing their reports (S-3939).

“Now is the time,” Hamm urged, supporting calls from fellow marchers that “There is no Trump, McConnell obstacle here in New Jersey.”

• See related article: NJ Bill Could Restore Subpoena Power For Newark Policing Board

Hamm said the Long March For Justice was inspired by other historic long marches, such as the March Against Fear in Mississippi in 1966, and the march from Selma to Montgomery for Voting Rights in 1965.

The POP chronicled the march in a series of social media posts.

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