Thousands Expected to March in Charlotte, NC in March on Wall Street South to Raise People’s Agenda for Jobs and Justice to the Banks and the DNC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9/1/2012

Contact:
Yen Alcala, 714-727-8129, ancientwizdom@hotmail.com
Zaina Alsous, 919-757-1031, zaina.alsous@gmail.com
Ben Carroll, 919-604-8167, press@wallstsouth.org

Thousands Expected to March in Charlotte, NC in March on Wall Street South to Raise People’s Agenda for Jobs and Justice to the Banks and the DNC

Charlotte, NC — Thousands of people from across the South and the country have mobilized to convene in Charlotte, North Carolina for the March on Wall Street South on Sunday, September 2, beginning at 11am at Frazier Park.

The demonstration is organized by the Coalition to March on Wall Street South – Building People’s Power at the Democratic National Convention. Over the past 10 months, more than 80 organizations from throughout the South and the U.S. have united to form this unprecedented, grassroots coalition representing countless struggles — including labor, civil rights, immigrants rights, the student and youth movement, the women’s movement, the LGBTQ movement, the anti-war movement, the environmental movement, as well as the Occupy movement. The coalition stands united around the following demands:

• Good jobs for all! Economic justice now! Make the banks and corporations pay for their crisis!
• Money for education, healthcare, housing and all human needs, not for war and incarceration!
• Justice for immigrants and all oppressed peoples! Stop the raids and deportations!

Stepping off at 1pm, The March on Wall Street South will pass by the international headquarters of Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Duke Energy. Marchers will also pass by the Time Warner Cable Arena as well as Bank of America Stadium where the Democratic National Convention will be held. Coalition organizers secured permits for the demonstration after many attempts over 8 months. More than 1500 people across the country signed a petition demanding the right to march that led to the permit victory.

There will be two stops along the march route — the first at Bank of America and the second at Duke Energy. At both stops, people who have been impacted by the practices of the banks and corporations will raise their grievances directly to these institutions — from people being foreclosured on, to students who are deep in debt, to unemployed people, to communities being devastated by environmental destruction, and more.

Hundreds will march in issue-based contingents such as:

• The Unemployed Workers contingent
• “No Papers No Fear/Sin Papeles y Sin Miedo” Undocumented and Immigrants’ Rights contingent, organized by the Undocubus — a bus of more than 40 undocumented people who started their journey in Arizona and will end at the DNC in Charlotte
• a youth and student-led contingent calling for an end to budget cuts and tuition hikes, and to stop the school-to-prison-pipeline
• “Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans/Queer people are part of the 99%”contingent
• “Workers Rights are Human Rights! Organize the South” contingent, who will be organizing the Southern Workers Assembly on Labor Day
• “Housing is a Right! Moratorium on Foreclosures and Evictions!” contingent
• No War, No Warming! Stop the Wars at Home & Abroad!

Following the march, there will be a short closing rally beginning at 4pm at Frazier Park.

Speakers at the march, representing a number of different issues and communities, will include:

• Cindy Foster, President of the Southern Piedmont Central Labor Council
• the Farm Labor Organizing Committee
• Jaribu Hill, Mississippi Workers Center
• Saladin Muhammad, Southern Workers Assembly and Black Workers for Justice
• the Undocubus
• John Heuer, Veterans for Peace
• Monica Embrey, Greenpeace
• Larry Hales, Peoples Power Assemblies
• Jared Hamil, Coalition to March on the RNC
• Rev. CD Witherspoon, Southern Christian Leadership Conference
• Victor Toro, May 1 Coalition for Worker and Immigrants Rights
• Marilyn Levin, United National Antiwar Coalition

There will also be performances during the program from Jasiri X, Rebel Diaz, the Fruit of Labor Singing Ensemble, Jaribu Hill, and a spoken word performance from Cameron Aviles.

Other participants in the march will include: a step team and drum corps from the Grier Heights community in Charlotte, a samba-infused drum corps from Greensboro called Cakalak Thunder, and the National Day Labor Organizing Network’s string band.

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