Walk for Justice

BEGINNING JUNE 7TH IN SPRINGFIELD, IL
CONCLUDING JULY 5TH IN NORTH CHICAGO

Download the PDF version of the project overview.

Join Voices for Creative Nonviolence this summer as we challenge the wars in Iraq and Israel-Palestine and the criminal injustice system in Illinois.

For 30 days we will walk through our country’s heartland, calling for:

An end to the U.S. occupation of and war in Iraq, with the immediate withdrawal of all members of the U.S. military from Iraq.
No military action against Iran. No punitive economic sanctions which harm Iranian citizens.
Quality health care and benefits for veterans whom our country chose to place in harms way-and quality health care for all living in the U.S.
Full funding by the U.S. to pay to rebuild and reconstruct Iraq for the damage the U.S. inflicted upon Iraq over the past 15 years of economic and military warfare.
An end to Israel’s occupation of the Occupied Territories of Palestine, including an end to the practice of destroying Palestinian homes and fruit groves by Israel’s occupation authorities.
The commitment of all parties to engage in nonviolent action to resolve the wars in Iraq and Israel-Palestine.
Radical reform of the jail and prison system that is a key element of the war on the poor, people of color and youth in our country.
The commitment to rehabilitation efforts rather than purely punitive measures within the criminal injustice system.

COMMITMENT TO NONVIOLENCE AND NONVIOLENT ACTION

We are committed to nonviolence and nonviolent action. We act in solidarity with those engaged in nonviolent action to end the wars in Iraq and in Israel-Palestine. We believe nonviolent action is the way to achieve justice, rather than continuing to engage in the cycle of violence.

As we journey through Illinois, we seek dialogue with those whom we meet along the way, searching for common ground amongst diverse opinions and experiences.

We invite you to join us for part or all of this walk. Please visit the Voices for Creative Nonviolence website (or call us) for more information on the exact walk route, which will be posted as the date of the walk nears. If unable to join the walk, please consider assisting the walk with food, housing, scheduling talks, etc.

TENTATIVE WALK SCHEDULE
(Please be in contact with Voices during the walk itself so that we can tell you which stretch of highway we are walking on any given day so that you might be able to join the walk or meet the walkers).

June 7th - Begin walk at the Illinois National Guard Headquarters in Springfield, Illinois. Over 1000 members of the Illinois National Guard are deployed to Iraq. A 2004 Department of Defense survey states that the average Guard member loses $368 in pay each month while on active duty (compared to their civilian pay).
June 12th - Arrive in Pekin, home to two federal prisons. We will stand in solidarity with those imprisoned at Pekin for nonviolent resistance to the School of the Americas. More importantly, we will stand in solidarity with all prisoners and their families whose lives are torn apart by the prison system and call for radical reformation of the criminal injustice system. The number of people jailed or imprisoned in the U.S. increased by 34.7% from 1995 to 2004.
June 13th - Arrive at Caterpillar headquarters in Peoria. We will call upon Caterpillar to end its sales of bulldozers to Israel which are used to destroy Palestinian homes and fruit and olive groves. We will recall Israeli and Palestinian nonviolent action that seeks justice in Israel-Palestine, as exemplified by the work of Jeff Halper and Ghassan Andoni (jointly nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize) and the life of Rachel Corrie.
June 14th to June 24th - Walk continues through El Paso, La Salle, Ottawa, and Sandwich. We will schedule talks and gathering places as we visit local communities.
June 25th - Arrive in DeKalb.
June 27th - Arrive at Illinois Youth Correction Center in St. Charles and also at Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert’s office in Batavia.
July 1st - Arrive at the Veterans Hospital in Chicago.
July 4th - Nonviolence workshop and logistical planning for nonviolent civil disobedience at the Military Entrance Processing Command to take place the following day.
July 5th - Arrive at Military Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM) in North Chicago with nonviolent civil disobedience. MEPCOM is the command for the system of Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS), at which the final oath of enlistment is taken by those entering the military. The presence will include both a legal component as well as civil disobedience as we act in solidarity with those within the military who to end the war, especially those imprisoned for refusing to serve in Iraq; as we call for an end to stop-loss orders and forced rotations; and as we demand an end to our country’s war in and occupation of Iraq.