Local activist group to march against hate on MLK Day

A group of local activists and other concerned residents of Bay Ridge will take to the streets on Monday, January 16 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) in protest of recent hate crimes – injustices that, Bay Ridge for Social Justice, the group behind the march, says have increased post the election of Donald Trump.

“We are organizing to demonstrate that Trump’s rhetoric against Muslims, immigrants, women, people of color, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ community, workers and the environment do not represent the values of the Bay Ridge community,” Bay Ridge for Social Justice writes. “As a community we will resist his agenda and make it clear to those who want to attack our Muslim and immigrant neighbors that we are here to defend each other because an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”

The March Against Hate will begin at 1 p.m. at the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge, located at 6807 Fifth Avenue.  Marchers will follow a route along Fifth Avenue from 68th to 80th Street to a final destination at the Salam Arabic Lutheran Church, located at 414 80th Street.  Following the march, there will be a forum with brief remarks by community leaders and activists.

“We believe that a grassroots movement is the only way to end the onslaught of bigotry and oppression, and we see ourselves as part of that rising movement,” Bay Ridge for Social Justice writes. “On Martin Luther King Day, the Bay Ridge community will honor Dr. King’s legacy of a united multi-racial struggle for justice.”

For more information, contact the group at [email protected].

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