More than 100 politicians, activists, students and clergy have embarked on a 250-mile march from New York City to Washington D.C., protesting police brutality across the country.
The group, organized by humans rights organization Justice League NYC, set out on Monday, and they’re expected to arrive at the National Mall on Tuesday, where they will met with legislators to suggest steps to eliminate police brutality.
“We march to shed a light on the national crisis of police brutality and the system that allows it to continue,” march director Carmen Perez said in a video. “We march for our lives and for the livelihood of our communities.”
The organizers are demanding that:
• The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Protection Act, which provides rehabilitation services to juveniles but expired in 2007, be restored;
• The Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act, which gives the Secretary of Defense the authority to give weapons to state agencies, be amended;
• The End Racial Profiling Act, which would prohibit law enforcement agencies from racial profiling, be enacted.
“If you make one step or 1,001, as long as you are doing something, every step counts,” marcher Dinetta Gilmore said to New York’s CBS affiliate. “And that’s what matters.”