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From Ferguson to West Philly: West Philly Families Solidarity March is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 3 (updated)

January 2, 2015

UPDATE (7:30 p.m.): Due to rain in forecast, the gathering and the first part of tomorrow’s event will be held at the Calvary Church (48th and Baltimore, entrance on 48th St), starting at 3 p.m. There will be a march after that, from the Calvary to Clark Park. See more details here.

Earlier: Local parents and recently formed Philly Anti-Racist Solidarity group are organizing a march this Saturday (Jan. 3) in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and against institutional and interpersonal racism.

Parents, caregivers, children, and the whole West Philly community and beyond are invited to participate in the event, which will kick off at Clark Park. “We stand for Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Eric Garner, John Crawford, Tamir Rice, Rekia Boyd, Renisha McBride, Aiyana Stanley Jones and so many more. We march for racial justice and for our collective humanity,” reads the event announcement on Facebook.

The gathering and a portion of the event will take place at the Clark Park bowl (43rd and Chester), starting at 3 p.m. There will be singing and chanting, and moments of making noise (a “Noise-In”) and silence in remembrance of lost lives. After Clark Park, participants will head to Baltimore Avenue for a peaceful march to Cedar Park (49th and Baltimore).

Participants are asked to bring musical instruments of all kinds and signs. In an effort to create a safe space for all participants, the organizers are asking that Saturday’s action be peaceful and non-violent. The event will take place rain or shine. For more information about the march, please visit this Facebook page.

The West Philly Families Solidarity March is coordinated with the Philly Town Hall meetings. The third in a series of meetings for community members to discuss and respond to racist police brutality as well as policies that contribute to institutional racism will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at the Calvary Church (48th and Baltimore). The first meeting took place on Dec. 2 and gathered more than 400 people, according to the organizers. Approximately 500 people showed up for the second meeting on Dec. 16. More information is available here.

13 Comments For This Post

  1. Kate Says:

    I’m not sure why I would march in remembrance of a couple of the people in that list that committed a crime and then attacked a police officer. Yes, there is racism in the police department that should be addressed. But by glorifying the lives of criminals, its sending the message that if you commit a crime and then are killed or hurt by police, its the police officer’s fault, not yours. If you’ve seen the video of Mike Brown robbing the convenience store just to get some cigarettes, it’s obvious he’s not some nice, gentle man that we need to feel sorry for.

  2. Steve Says:

    @Kate, fortunately we live in a free country where you are welcome to NOT participate in the march.

    You are welcome to stay at home, if that is how you wish to convey that you are happy with the way things are.

  3. Handsome Pete Says:

    @Steve thanks for that. For a moment I thought I stumbled on philly.com comments.

  4. Kate Says:

    @Steve I’m certainly not happy with the way things are. The point of my comment was to say that focusing on cases like Mike Brown are detrimental to the cause of ending police brutality and racism. I would readily support a movement that only uses cases like Philippe Holland or John Crawford, and doesn’t glorify criminals who attack police officers. Basically, I think the movement loses credibility by not carefully choosing whose deaths to protest. Yes, it’s sad that all these people died. But for some of them, it is their own fault, not the police officers’.

  5. Melanie Bartlett Says:

    Note that the location changed due to rain- we’re now meeting at Calvary at 3 and ultimately will march to Clark Park. as per: https://www.facebook.com/events/845175658878346/?ref=3&ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

  6. west fill Says:

    @Kate, so your argument is that the cops have the right to kill people if they deem the victim guilty of a crime? I think you need to examine your position; it’s a bit twisted for a democratic nation and a judicial system that is predicated on innocence until *proven* guilty.

  7. Kate Says:

    @west fill Not quite my point. A cop has the right to use lethal force if they believe their life is in danger. Mike Brown attacked the police officer before he was shot, though it is debatable whether the police officer’s life was actually in danger when he shot Mike Brown. My point is that there are many other cases when it is obvious that excessive force was used. So movements like this one should focus on the cases where it is clear that the police were in the wrong. A fair number of people I’ve talked to think all of these protests are completely unfounded, because the media has payed the most attention to Michael Brown, who committed a violent crime and attacked a police officer. Most people aren’t going to feel bad for someone who seemed to have little morality and personality responsibility.

    That being sad, I think most of us are glad that the public reaction, whether it has focused on the right cases or not, has encouraged law enforcement agencies to consider body cams. I think it’s a win-win for both the police force and for us citizens.

  8. Robert Says:

    Thank Jesus we have these white kids from the suburbs looking out for us. Most of them just pass through for a few years to find themselves, but I don’t know what we would do without them.

  9. West Philly Law & Order Says:

    @Kate I think you’re right and this article presents the point of view that although Mike Brown’s death was a tragedy it is the wrong one for a rallying cry against so-called “racist police brutality.” In other words not all great tragedies are grave injustices.
    http://time.com/3594636/ferguson-is-the-wrong-tragedy-to-wake-america-up/

    I’d love to see some rallies to support the police who for the most part do the best they can, don’t always exercise good judgement in hindsight, and just want to go home at night to be with their families. The greater problem we face is a lack of respect for law and order and for the rights of all people, and cycles of generational criminality and broken families that no protest or laws will fix.

  10. lynda Says:

    I agree w/Kate.

  11. lynda Says:

    Robert: White kids attending the local college keep your neighborhood from falling into the depths of hell like most any other big city where unemployment is high & criminal element is allowed to roam free thanks to liberal judges & local democrat/liberals in political office.

  12. Mark Mandel Says:

    The parade just passed my house. I couldn’t read all of their signs from my window, and I figured westphilly.com was the likeliest place to find out what they were about. I’m glad they’re doing it, but I don’t feel up to joining them, especially in the rain.

  13. christina Says:

    @Kate
    Movements are made up by lots of people (and lots of viewpoints) clustered around a common theme. One thing to consider would be to join such a demonstration holding a sign featuring Philippe Holland or John Crawford’s name. Make it your own instead of rejecting it altogether (I say this bc you indicated you WOULD readily support a movement involving those cases).

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