On Saturday, September 22 at 9 a.m., hundreds will rally and march from the Dr. King Statue (on the Southside of the Lincoln Memorial), to the White House for a vigil and nonviolent direct action. Speakers will call for an end to U.S. wars and nuclear weapons, racist policies, rampant greed and growing poverty, and ongoing environmental destruction, and for a new direction toward justice, disarmament, and environmental protection. Some will engage in nonviolent direct action.
“This week, the president said that protests should be illegal. The right to protest peacefully is at the heart of our country. In that spirit of peaceful dissent, we gather at the Dr. King statue to reclaim Dr. King’s peaceful vision of a new culture of justice and nonviolence, to denounce the violence, greed, racism, wars, and environmental destruction which the United States government is relentlessly pursuing, and to call for a new direction, where our country seeks to make justice and peace for every human being and environmental protection its first priority,” said Rev. John Dear, longtime activist and co-founder of Campaign Nonviolence.
This will be the first ever march from the Dr. King Statue to the White House.
Speakers will include Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the HipHop Caucus; Lisa Sharon Harper of Freedom Road; Shane Claiborne of Red Letter Christians; Father John Dear, co-founder of Campaign Nonviolence; Dr. Ken Butigan, co-founder of Campaign Nonviolence; Dr. Kit Evans Ford, a national trainer and spiritual director; George Martin of United for Peace and Justice; Monsignor Ray East, Pastor of St. Teresa of Avila Church in Southeast D.C.; and others.
At 10 a.m., everyone will walk in silence with signs from the Dr. King statue in procession past the Lincoln Memorial to Lafayette Park across from the White House, where they will gather for a legal vigil, to continue their call for an end to racism, greed, war, and environmental destruction, and for new leadership and a new culture of nonviolence, with respect, dignity, rights for everyone and for the earth. Some people will then engage in nonviolent direct action at the White House.
The September 22 rally and march to the White House culminates the fifth annual Campaign Nonviolence national week of action, from September 15-22, when a hundred thousand people across the U.S. will participate in more than 2,000 events to speak out publicly against war, poverty, racism, and environmental destruction, and for the coming of a new culture of peace and nonviolence. For a list of events and contact information, see campaignnonviolence.org