- NALACC and “Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity” allies to hold march and vigil in Chicago honoring the more than 60,000 people killed in drug war in Mexico
WHAT: The National Alliance of Latin American & Caribbean Communities (NALACC) is joining other civil society groups aboard the Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity for a community march and vigil honoring the more than 60,000 people killed in the drug war in Mexico. The events will take place today Monday Sept. 3, 2012 in Chicago. The city is one of the more than 20 stops of this broad binational coalition traveling the United States from coast to coast raising awareness on the human costs of the war on drugs and the social disasters caused by violence in Mexico and in the United States. The Caravan will culminate on Sept. 12, 2012 on International Day of Action in Washington, D.C.
WHO: NALACC, along with other 100 U.S. civil society organizations, has formed an alliance with Mexico’s Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD), co-led by Mexican poet and activist Javier Sicilia, on the Caravan as a sign of solidarity with Mexicans as well as a way to share its “Somos” / “We Are” initiative, which mirrors the same goal: to humanize the debate of policies that directly affect the immigrant communities in the United States.
WHEN: Monday Sept. 3, 2012
WHERE: Chicago, IL
SCHEDULE:
- 5:00-6:40 PM: Marching for Peace. March begins at 26 St. and Albany Ave. (Little Village Arch) and ends at Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, 4301 West Washington Blvd., Chicago, IL.
- 7:00-8:30 PM: Welcoming, dialogue with Mexican victims of drug violence, vigil and prayer at Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, 4301 West Washington Blvd., Chicago, IL
WHY: The war on drugs has left more than 60,000 people dead in Mexico in the last five years, and has resulted in over 500,000 Americans behind bars for drug offenses. Blacks and Latinos are vastly overrepresented among those arrested and incarcerated for drug offenses in the United States. The Caravan opens the possibility to initiate a transnational debate among the stakeholders searching for a new program of “human security”, whose main criterion should be the well-being of the people, including the decriminalization of migration.
