Newark Activists Will Hit The Streets To Demand Slavery Reparations

NEWARK, NJ — Activists and community members plan to rally in support of slavery reparations in Newark to kick off the Juneteenth holiday weekend.

The “Juneteenth March And Rally For Reparations, Justice And Democracy” is scheduled to start at noon on Friday, June 17 at the Lincoln Statue, 12 Springfield Avenue. Masking and social distancing is encouraged, organizers said.

The march is co-sponsored by dozens of social justice groups, including the New Jersey Institute For Social Justice (NJISJ) and the People's Organization For Progress (POP), which has been spearheading reparations marches for years in Newark.

According to a statement from organizers, here are some of the reasons why people are hitting the streets:

• “Demand reparations for African Americans for the centuries of enslavement of their ancestors”
• “Demand passage of the reparations task force bill A938/S386 by the New Jersey State Legislature”
• “Demand the passage by Congress of HR 40 and S40, which would establish a federal reparations commission”
• “Demand passage of the police review board with subpoena power bill A1515/S2295, same-day voter registration bill A1966/S2295, and investment in our youth and closing of youth prisons”

According to organizers, several activists, elected officials and representatives from labor, clergy and community groups plan to speak at the rally, including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, NJISJ President and CEO Ryan Haygood, and former U.S. Senate candidate and POP co-founder Lawrence Hamm.

In addition to the NJISJ and the POP, other co-sponsoring organizations include Salvation and Social Justice, New Jersey Black Issues Convention, The Inclusion Project-Rutgers University Newark, Black Lives Matter - Paterson, Newark Communities for Accountable Policing (NCAP), NAACP NJ State Conference, Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey, New Jersey Policy Perspective, ACLU of New Jersey, NAACP Newark, Fair Share Housing Center, United Black Agenda, City of Newark, New Jersey Working Families, Rutgers University Newark, Garden State Bar Association, and Our Revolution - New Jersey, NJ Citizen Action, and the Urban League of Essex County.

"Juneteenth — also known as Freedom Day — has been a tradition in the United States for more than 150 years, and marks the day on June 19, 1865 when enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas finally learned about their freedom – more than two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation," Haygood wrote in an email promoting the rally.

"Today, even as we rightfully celebrate that freedom, we are keenly aware – these past few years more than ever – that America is still very much living out the legacy of slavery," Haygood continued. "That is true right here in New Jersey, where we have some of the widest racial disparities in America."

"We are living in a moment when it’s more important than ever that all of us raise our voices in the fight for justice," Haygood added.

• See related article: Push For U.S. Slavery Reparations Continues In Newark
• See related article: Keep Your Movies And Statues! Give Us Our Reparations Now! (Op-Ed)
• See related article: Racial Gaps Still Plague New Jersey, Advocates Say

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Don’t forget to visit the Patch Newark Facebook page.