Mass March & Rally on Aug. 25th- Newark NJ The Socialist Party of New Jersey is a member organization of the Peace & Justice Coalition, a coalition of over 125 organization in New Jersey. It is also a diverse, POC led coalition which has brought over 400 people to the last two mass- meetings. The SP New Jersey hopes that folks in the NJ can join us at this rally in August. In Unity, Greg Pason - SPNJ THE PEACE & JUSTICE COALITION CALL TO THE PEOPLE'S MARCH FOR PEACE, EQUALITY, JOBS & JUSTICE (draft call) Unjust War & Profound Social Crisis The immoral and illegal U.S. war in Iraq must be brought to an end and the U.S. government must begin to concentrate on solving the dire economic and social problems in the United States. In Iraq, since the beginning of the unjust and unnecessary U.S. invasion and occupation, more than 3,300 U.S. troops have been killed, 30,000 wounded and amputeed and one third suffer from post-traumatic stress. More than half a million Iraqis have died, and more than a half trillion dollars has been spent on this war with no end in sight. In fact, the world is in imminent danger of the war spreading and becoming a general Middle East conflict. In the U.S., another type of war is going on, a war on our communities. The Bush administration has decreased domestic spending for education, health care, housing, employment, veterans' care and other social programs. Our civil liberties, civil rights, human rights and voting rights are being violated and taken away. The ranks of the poor and working poor continue to swell, millions remain unemployed and millions more are without health insurance. Racism, racial inequality and police brutality are on the rise. Working people are struggling paycheck to paycheck, many in the so-called middle class are losing ground and the gap between the rich and the rest of us is wider than it has ever been. Immigrants are being harassed and deported without due process and used as scapegoats to distract us from the real issue of the struggle for a just economic system. The numbers of people imprisoned and detained are exploding. Environmental pollution and global warming threaten our very existence. A Time to March It is time for a revolution of priorities. We must end this unjust war now and focus the energy and resources of our nation on solving our problems at home! Towards that end, this urgent call goes out to people across the nation to rise up and participate in The People's March for Peace, Equality, Jobs, and Justice, which will take place Saturday, August 25, 2007 in Newark, New Jersey. The purpose of the march is to demand an immediate end to the U.S. war in Iraq, and the realization of racial equality, social and economic justice in the United States. The goals of The People's March are to demonstrate the profound grassroots opposition to the U.S. war and occupation in Iraq that exists at the grassroots level, bring pressure to bear upon the government to end the war now, educate people about the war and its impact upon our communities in the U.S. and organize and mobilize people around a peace and justice agenda that will link the struggle against the war in Iraq to the struggles against injustice at home. March for Peace Now is the time to put the nation on a new course. If this war is to end and our social problems are to be seriously addressed then all of us who want peace and justice must act now. On August 25th, let us march together for peace. We will march for an end to war abroad and an end to the war on our communities. We will demand an immediate end to the U.S. war in Iraq and the closing of U. S. military bases there, the return home of all U.S. troops now, adequate care for the troops upon their return, the cutoff of funding for the war in Iraq and the redirection of those funds towards domestic and social programs. We will also demand an end to the war in Afghanistan and that no future wars be initiated against Iran or other countries. March for Human Rights We will demand the restoration and preservation of human rights, constitutional rights and civil liberties, which continue to be steadily eroded. We will demand an end to the use of torture, extraordinary renditions (secret abductions), secret trials and prisons, indefinite detentions, denial of the right of habeas corpus, racial profiling, use of banned weapons, and further violations of the Geneva Conventions and international law against individuals whether they are U. S. citizens or residents, or citizens of other countries. We will demand that the detainee facility at Guantanamo Bay be closed, and that the PATRIOT, Homeland Security and Military Commissions acts and the unlawful expansion of presidential power be repealed. We will call for justice and freedom for all political prisoners. March for an End to Violence We cannot call for an end to the war in Iraq while ignoring the war that is going on in the streets of the United States. Violence is engulfing communities throughout the nation. There is a state of emergency in many cities and towns. Every year thousands die from gun-related and other forms of violence in our country. When we march on August 25th, we will call for unity in the community, peace in our streets and an end to the violence that pervades U.S. society. We will demand and end to the flow of illegal drugs and guns into our communities. And we will demand and end to the grinding poverty and other economic and social conditions that drive so many towards drugs, crime, violence and death. March for Equality On that day, let us march for equality. We will demand an end to all forms of discrimination, oppression and violence. We will once again demand an end to police brutality and the establishment of truly empowered police review boards. We will call for the protection and expansion of civil liberties, human rights, civil rights, voting rights, democratic rights, women's rights, affirmative action, and immigrant rights. We will demand equal voting rights and representation for District of Columbia residents. We will demand reparations for the descendants of Africans enslaved in the United States and the passage of H.R. 40, the Conyers reparations bill. March for Jobs and Justice On that day, let us march for jobs and economic justice. We will demand the redirection of funds for the war towards education, healthcare, housing, employment, Medicaid, Medicare, social security and other domestic programs. We will demand the creation of jobs program that pays a living wage, an increase in the minimum wage and health care for all. We will demand an end to the exploitation of undocumented immigrants by workers who want to undercut the ability of all workers to earn a living wage and an end to raids on immigrant communities and to the stealth deportations that separate and destroy families. Let us march for the right of all workers to be organized and represented by unions, without fear of retribution by their employers for participating in union activities. We will demand affordable housing, environmental justice and an end to poverty, unemployment and homelessness. We will demand the environmental clean-up and reconstruction of the Gulf Coast and its communities and justice, housing, jobs, and the right of return for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. March for Accountability On that day, let us march to demand accountability. Those responsible for the disaster caused by the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq and the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe must be held accountable. We will call for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney for their handling of the Iraq war and the mishandling of the Hurricane Katrina crisis. March of History The march is being held on August 25th to coincide with the 44th anniversary of the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and with the second anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe, which killed many and left hundreds of thousands displaced and devastated due to of the failure of the federal government to adequately respond to their needs. Marching in Newark also enables us to connect this event to the 40th anniversary commemoration of the 1967 Newark Rebellion, a major event in the struggle for racial justice. March for A Just Society and Peaceful World The People's March is sponsored by The Peace & Justice Coalition, which is comprised of more than 100 diverse grassroots organizations. The coalition calls upon everyone who wants peace, equality, social, economic and environmental justice to join the march and fill the streets of Newark on August 25th. We call upon all people of good will across the country, from all walks of life to join us on that day. We especially call upon historically oppressed communities, including African Americans, Latinos, Asians, Indigenous and other peoples of color who have been among those most opposed to this war to join us and make their opposition visible. On August 25th, let us march in the spirit of unity, determined to keep the pressure on until the war in Iraq is ended and the ideal of a more just society and a better world for all is finally realized.