Student groups, labor unions, civil rights and community organizations will be joining together in unity to hold a Rally for Racial, Economic, and Educational Justice, at 6 p.m., tonight, April 10, at Santa Monica City Hall.
Santa Monica College’s Student Organizing Committee, MEChA, SMC Associate Students, and other student groups will be taking part in a peaceful demonstration prior to the City Council meeting tonight.
Organizer Gary Avrech said the demonstrators “are fighting to keep the doors of educational opportunity open.”
“Hotel workers from Santa Monica’s UNITE HERE Local 11 are struggling to create new jobs that pay a living wage. In response to persistent patterns of institutionalized racism and rising tensions on Samohi’s campus among students of color, the Committee for Racial Justice, the NAACP Santa Monica Venice Branch, and the Pico Youth and Family Center have presented solutions to build a society free of racism and disparate treatment,” Avrech said in a statement. “Youth and community leaders from Santa Monica’s Pico Neighborhood are fighting to preserve their culture and community.”
The demonstration is in response to issues such as the Trayvon Martin case in Florida and recent Occupy movements.
“Across the nation, communities are standing up to for justice and fairness. Social justice movements are gaining momentum and have the potential to create the public and political pressure to safeguard a brighter future for all,” Avrech added. “We stand with the 99 percent movement to restore the promise of equal opportunity for all Americans. Students, workers and community standing united for racial justice, and economic and educational opportunity, will create a better Santa Monica.
City Hall is located at 1685 Main Street.
