The march starts at 4 p.m. at 19th and Washington Avenues in Minneapolis, near the law school at the University of Minnesota. Participants will then cross the 10th Avenue Bridge.
The demonstration will take place on a national day of protests to demand action to create jobs.
“It is time for us as faith and community leaders to take a courageous stand for racial justice and bridge the jobs gap between whites and African Americans. Everyone deserves a path that leads out of poverty and into opportunity. Faith calls us to correct bad policies that favors the few and is destroying our democracy and co-create new policies that benefit all people,” said the Rev. Paul Slack of New Creation Church in Minneapolis, co-chair of the march organizing committee.
"Minnesotans know better than almost anyone how much crumbling bridges and infrastructure can cost a community,” said Tee McClenty, executive vice president of SEIU HealthCare Minnesota.
“We must fix Minnesota\'s infrastructure and we must use these jobs to fix the economic inequality in our state--with 22% African-American unemployment we have one of the worst racial job gaps in the country. We are marching to demand that our leaders pass a jobs bill that will put people back to work repairing our infrastructure and providing vital public services, not kill even more jobs with devastating budget cuts.”
Organizers of the event say that state officials must ensure that the jobs will be allocated in a way that reflects the racial diversity of our region and state. A report from Transportation for America found 1,149 of Minnesota’s bridges, 8.8% of bridges in the state, are structurally deficient. On average, more than 83,000 Minnesotans use these unsound bridges daily.[1]
The Bridge the Gap March in Minneapolis has been organized by the faith-based organization ISAIAH, the community-labor collation Minnesotans for a Fair Economy, and the SEIU African American Caucus and endorsed by organizations including the Minnesota AFL-CIO, Minnesota NOC (Neighborhoods Organizing for Change), the Harrison Neighborhood Association, His Works United, Minnesota State Baptist Convention, New Creation Church, TakeAction Minnesota, SEIU, CTUL, UFCW Local 1189, student groups and others.
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The march starts at 4 p.m. at 19th and Washington Avenues in Minneapolis, near the law school at the University of Minnesota. Participants will then cross the 10th Avenue Bridge.
The demonstration will take place on a national day of protests to demand action to create jobs.
“It is time for us as faith and community leaders to take a courageous stand for racial justice and bridge the jobs gap between whites and African Americans. Everyone deserves a path that leads out of poverty and into opportunity. Faith calls us to correct bad policies that favors the few and is destroying our democracy and co-create new policies that benefit all people,” said the Rev. Paul Slack of New Creation Church in Minneapolis, co-chair of the march organizing committee.
"Minnesotans know better than almost anyone how much crumbling bridges and infrastructure can cost a community,” said Tee McClenty, executive vice president of SEIU HealthCare Minnesota.
“We must fix Minnesota\’s infrastructure and we must use these jobs to fix the economic inequality in our state–with 22% African-American unemployment we have one of the worst racial job gaps in the country. We are marching to demand that our leaders pass a jobs bill that will put people back to work repairing our infrastructure and providing vital public services, not kill even more jobs with devastating budget cuts.”
Organizers of the event say that state officials must ensure that the jobs will be allocated in a way that reflects the racial diversity of our region and state. A report from Transportation for America found 1,149 of Minnesota’s bridges, 8.8% of bridges in the state, are structurally deficient. On average, more than 83,000 Minnesotans use these unsound bridges daily.[1]
The Bridge the Gap March in Minneapolis has been organized by the faith-based organization ISAIAH, the community-labor collation Minnesotans for a Fair Economy, and the SEIU African American Caucus and endorsed by organizations including the Minnesota AFL-CIO, Minnesota NOC (Neighborhoods Organizing for Change), the Harrison Neighborhood Association, His Works United, Minnesota State Baptist Convention, New Creation Church, TakeAction Minnesota, SEIU, CTUL, UFCW Local 1189, student groups and others.