Juneteenth March and Rally for Reparations in Newark

People’s Organization for Progress member. | Photo: Terri Kay

People’s Organization for Progress members display signs with numerous demands, while POP Chairman Lawrence Hamm speaks at rally in front of Newarks’ Lincoln Monument. | Photo: Terri Kay

People’s Organization for Progress members display signs with numerous demands. | Photo: Terri Kay

By Terri Kay

June 19, 2023:

The People’s Organization for Progress, POP, and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, NJISJ, chose to focus the celebration of Juneteenth with a day of action for Reparations. Starting with a mass press conference in Perth Amboy, NJ, and then an afternoon march and rally in Newark, the organizers focused on the stalled bills for Reparations in both the New Jersey State Capitol and in the U.S. Congress.

In Newark, led by POP, they gathered at the Lincoln Monument, marched downtown, then doubled back for a rally at the Monument. While they were gathering, Larry Adams, POP Vice-Chair, spoke about the historic wealth gap which was created by the State of NJ granting land to slaveholders. Then POP Chairman, Lawrence Hamm, spoke on Reparations as a key step to correct harms done by slavery. Chairman Hamm then described how this was actually the 2nd attempt to pass a Reparations bill in New Jersey.

The rally after the march was rich with educational presentations including:

• Lawrence Hamm on Thaddeus Stevens and 40 acres and a mule
• Baba Zayid Muhammad on Callie House “Mother of Modern Reparations Movement”
• Baba Zayid Muhammad on strategy to win Reparations
• Lawrence Hamm on many injustices requiring Reparations to African Americans
• Lisa Davis of Black Is Back Coalition on Hands Off Uhuru Defense Campaign

The event was endorsed by People’s Organization for Progress, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, African American Parades Organization, Black Lives Matter Paterson, Ironbound Community Corporation, Newark Communities for Accountable Policing (N-cap), NAACP-Newark Branch, Our Revolution Nj, Trenton Anti-violence Coalition, Salvation and Social Justice, African Diaspora for Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace-northern Nj Chapter, New Jersey Working Families Party, Nj State Industrial Union Council, Al-awda-ny/nj Palestine Right to Return Coalition, Faith in New Jersey, Bluewave Nj, St. Paul Ame Church of Montclair, Mapso Freedom School, New Jersey Peace Action, American Muslims for Palestine-nj, Naacp-new Brunswick Area Branch, Union Baptist Church of Montclair, Palestinian American Community Center, Soma Action, Refal-reconstructing Economics for African Love, Black Lives Matter Elizabeth, Naacp Bergen County Branch, National Action Network South Jersey Chapter, National Council of Negro Women of Mercer County Section, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, New Jersey Black Issues Convention, Atalaya Armstrong of Not on My Watch, Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations (Ascac) Study Group Chapter-newark, Essex Rising, Aclu-new Jersey, Melanintellect Llc, National United Youth Council, Inc., December 12th Movement, October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminilization of a Generation, the Gregory Thomas Foundation, and Nufamily Foundation, Inc.