FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Email: Mlkdayactionboston@gmail.com
Brandi Artez, brandiartez@gmail.com, (617)401-5600
Ashley Clerge, ashleyclerge94@gmail.com, (954)319-6827
Joel Wool, joelwool@gmail.com, (978)697-0361
Facebook link: tinyurl.com/BostonMLK2015

4 Mile March Calls for End to Police Brutality, Mass Incarceration

Hundreds to March in Boston on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
(Boston, MAJan 15, 2015) Sixty-seven years after the assassination of civil rights activist Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., community members in Boston will take to the streets to protest
police brutality, mass incarceration and worsening economic inequality. The 4 mile march,
one of 25 nationwide, will commence at the Old State House in Boston, the site of the Boston
Massacre, at 1 p.m., and proceed in a 4-mile route ending at the African Meeting House (46 Joy
Street). The length of the march symbolizes the 4.5 hours Mike Browna victim of police
brutality in Ferguson, MO in 2014was left on the ground after being shot to death by Officer
Darren Wilson.
I am deeply committed to fighting for the changes that my city desperately needs to see. From
my own difficult experiences with the Boston Police, witnessed interactions between the
community and the police that are meant to protect and serve us, and story after story of
abuse and intimidation from Bostonians of color, it is time for these issues to be rectified, said
Brandi Artez, a 3rd-generation Bostonian and Villa Victoria resident. The oppression faced by
communities of color goes much deeper than just a broken relationship and abuse from the
police. And it's time for the city, our mayor and our local and state government to sit up and
take notice. This is not an issue that can be pushed under the rug and ignored while jostling for
the Olympics. We will not back down or be quiet until our voices are heard and demands are
met.
The recent police killings of Mike Brown in Missouri and Eric Garner in New York have raised
the profile on violence committed by law enforcement nationwide, but the same problem is
sadlyall too familiar to residents of Massachusetts. The 2012 killing of Burrell Ramsey-White
of Dorchester and the 2013 killing of Denis Reynoso of Lynn exemplify an ongoing pattern of
lethal violence without consequences.
In advance of the event, organizers of Bostons 4 Mile March have released a seven-point set of
local demands, including the prosecution of police officers who commit murder, justice for
families of victims, an end to mass incarceration, and the guarantee of a living wage, among
others.

"Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that ancestors of former slaves and ancestors of former
slave owners would be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood," said Ashley Clerge, a
student from Northeastern University. "More than fifty years later, we are still waiting for that
invitation. We have been disillusioned by promises of a seat at the table of justice; however we
are attempting to leap over the same barricades. We are still victims of police brutality, we are
still not paid living wages, and our communities still remain underfunded. With this march, we
will not only call for the removal of those barricades, but we will also be demanding for our
rightful seat at the table."

MLK Day March Boston: The Demands

1. Jail Killer Cops: When police officers break the law and take life, they must be subject to
punishment. We call for the imprisonment of killer cops.
2. Justice for Families in Boston and Massachusetts: Families who have lost loved ones to
police brutality deserve justicefrom real and thorough investigation of the crimes
committed against them, to appropriate punishment for the perpetrator and payment
of funeral expenses for victims.
3. For a Living Wage: We call for living wages in all communities, beginning with the
enactment of a 15$/hour minimum wage in Boston and Massachusetts.
4. Defund Prisons and Fund Communities: We call for a halt to prison expansion and a
redirection of prison funds toward job creation in low-income communities of color.
5. End Mass Incarceration: Beyond its gross misuses of funds, the prison system is
racialized and criminally unjustwe call for an end to mass incarceration.
6. No Boston Olympics: Public and private monies can be better spent on alleviating the
social problems of todayproviding adequate affordable housing, creating jobs and
improving the health of our communities. Olympic Games are notoriously preceded by
an increase in policing to remove undesirables from the area of the games.
7. Stop US Imperialism: Our countrys continued violence abroad is immoral. US
imperialism creates conflict and draws on resources we should be spending at home.
National 4 Mile March Demands can be viewed here: http://1drv.ms/1sfQh9W
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