Thousands to Rally in Detroit for Racial Justice
Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press 10:36 p.m. EDT
March 27, 2015
Thousands are expected to march Saturday demanding racial justice in Detroit in a rally organized by more than 100 local churches.
Called the March for Justice, the walk is part of a broader effort to highlight what organizers say is the growing marginalization of African-Americans in Detroit. While the city's residential population is 84% African-American, the community is being ignored in recent development efforts, said members of the planned march.
"With the gentrification of Detroit ... African-Americans do feel shut out," said Tracey Sanders, an organizer who's a member of of New St. Mark Church in Detroit. "We just want to have a seat at the table."
The march and later actions planned — such as voter registration — are to help "eliminate racially-motivated injustice and promote economic parity," Sanders said. About 3,000 to 5,000 are expected to take part in the march, said organizers.
The rally was timed to be around the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil rights marches in Selma, Ala. A poster for the rally reads: "From Selma to Detroit: 50 years later, same issues, same fight."
The rally comes the same week that a video was released of an African-American man being beaten, choked, and Tasered by a group of white police officers in Inkster. The issue of police abuse of blacks is a concern of many in the march, said organizers.
"It just keeps on happening," Sanders said. "It just seems like the justice system, and law enforcement doesn't care. That is the reason why you see people with signs that say, 'Black Lives Matter' because many times our lives are not seen as significant as the next person."
Rev. Louis Forsythe II, pastor of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Detroit, plans to attend the march.
Pastor Louis ForsytheBuy Photo
Pastor Louis Forsythe (Photo: Niraj Warikoo Detroit Free Press)
"We want to be able to speak truth to power," Forsythe said.
Other noted Detroit pastors who plan to be at the march include E.L. Branch, Wilma Johnson, Kevin Turman, Patricia Havis and Steven Bland.
Open to all, the march starts at noon at Chene Park and will end at Martin Luther King High School at about 3 pm.
Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or 313-223-4792. Follow him on Twitter @nwarikoo
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| Detroit Pastor E. L. Branch. |
March 27, 2015
Thousands are expected to march Saturday demanding racial justice in Detroit in a rally organized by more than 100 local churches.
Called the March for Justice, the walk is part of a broader effort to highlight what organizers say is the growing marginalization of African-Americans in Detroit. While the city's residential population is 84% African-American, the community is being ignored in recent development efforts, said members of the planned march.
"With the gentrification of Detroit ... African-Americans do feel shut out," said Tracey Sanders, an organizer who's a member of of New St. Mark Church in Detroit. "We just want to have a seat at the table."
The march and later actions planned — such as voter registration — are to help "eliminate racially-motivated injustice and promote economic parity," Sanders said. About 3,000 to 5,000 are expected to take part in the march, said organizers.
The rally was timed to be around the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil rights marches in Selma, Ala. A poster for the rally reads: "From Selma to Detroit: 50 years later, same issues, same fight."
The rally comes the same week that a video was released of an African-American man being beaten, choked, and Tasered by a group of white police officers in Inkster. The issue of police abuse of blacks is a concern of many in the march, said organizers.
"It just keeps on happening," Sanders said. "It just seems like the justice system, and law enforcement doesn't care. That is the reason why you see people with signs that say, 'Black Lives Matter' because many times our lives are not seen as significant as the next person."
Rev. Louis Forsythe II, pastor of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Detroit, plans to attend the march.
Pastor Louis ForsytheBuy Photo
Pastor Louis Forsythe (Photo: Niraj Warikoo Detroit Free Press)
"We want to be able to speak truth to power," Forsythe said.
Other noted Detroit pastors who plan to be at the march include E.L. Branch, Wilma Johnson, Kevin Turman, Patricia Havis and Steven Bland.
Open to all, the march starts at noon at Chene Park and will end at Martin Luther King High School at about 3 pm.
Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or 313-223-4792. Follow him on Twitter @nwarikoo
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