9-Day Faith Pilgrimage For Racial Justice To Stop In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — A faith pilgrimage for racial justice from Charlottesville to DC will make a stop in Alexandria this week. The nine-day Faith Pilgrimage of Racial Reckoning, Resolve, and Love started in Charlottesville on Aug. 20 and will end on Aug. 28 at DC's Black Lives Matter Plaza.

The last leg of the pilgrimage — Alexandria to DC — will be preceded by a prayer and public action at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 27. Area clergy and supporters will join the participants for the assembly at African American Heritage Park, 500 Holland Lane, Alexandria. Speakers will discuss Alexandria's historical role in supporting white supremacy through the slave market, the role of white faith institutions in promoting white supremacy and the role of white people of faith to overhaul white supremacy.

The assembly speakers will include Julio Hernandez, director of family ministries at Christ Crossman United Methodist Church in Falls Church; LaToya Archibald, director of partnerships at The HOPE Scholarship: Helping Others Pursue Education; CR Gibbs, a Washington, DC historian and author; Walter Clark, assistant minister at Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington; and Rev. Alexis Kassim, associate pastor at Little River United Church of Christ in Annandale. Participating organizations are Faith in Action, the Congregation Action Network, and DC Unity & Justice Fellowship.

On Friday, Aug. 28, participants will meet at 7 a.m. at Rivergate City Park (2 Montgomery Street, Alexandria) for a walk along Mount Vernon Trail to Lafayette Park in DC. At 10 a.m., a brief program will be held at Black Lives Matter Plaza (Lafayette Park) in front of St. John’s Church. Participants will then head to the Lincoln Memorial for the Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks. Lafayette Park is located at Pennsylvania Ave NW & 16th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20001.

As the name suggests, the organizers' goals for the faith pilgrimage are "to Reckon with and apologize for personal and structural racism, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness actions and attitudes; to Resolve moving racial justice forward in the missions of in our faith traditions and nation, through voting, organizing, and advocacy; and to Reframe the faith narrative in this nation as we approach the 2020 election."

All participants are asked to wear a mask and keep a safe distance from others. Anyone interested in participating in the walk can register at www.walkthewalk2020.us.