Teachers from across NJ will be marching in support of the Back Lives Matter movement, joined by fellow staff members, students, parents, and community members. The "Teachers for Black Lives Rally and March will be on June 15th from 4-6 pm.
Starting in Grove Park in South Orange, attendees will gather to listen to speakers and begin their march down Valley Street. The rally will finish up in Memorial Park in Maplewood with more speakers.
As of June 15th, teachers from 36 NJ school districts are planning to attend. Attendees will include teachers from Millburn, Montclair, Livingston, Irvington, West Orange, East Orange, Newark, Verona, and Nutley, as well as the South Orange-Maplewood School District, where a group of about 15 teachers came together to organize this event.
In a message on the Facebook Event page for this march, they say, "Our students have made their voices heard, and it is our turn to respond. It's time for us to show them that we are listening and are standing in solidarity with them against police brutality and the murder of black people. We must show our students that they are not alone in this fight for racial justice, but rather that they have a whole community—including their teachers and school staff—who are fighting for justice with them."
Those organizing the event want to remind all attendees to wear a face mask and practice proper social distancing.
For more information, please visit the Facebook Event group or contact Stephanie Rivera, srrivera92@gmail.com.
This march is a part of a much larger, national movement calling for justice reform and an end to police brutality. Sparked by the death of George Floyd on May 25th and subsequent release of a video of his death, "Black Lives Matter" protests and marches have occurred in every state in the US and many major cities across the globe.