For Planning Purposes: August 17, 2020
Contact: Heather Cabral | 202-550-6880 | heather@westendstrategy.com
Troy Jackson | 614-359-2475 | tjackson@faithinaction.org (on the march route)
Erin Williams | 202-748-0699 | ewilliams@faithinaction.org
The walk will end in Washington D.C. on Friday August 28, which marks the 57th anniversary of the historic March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.
WASHINGTON – Faith in Action, the nation’s largest grassroots faith-based organizing network, is hosting Walk the Walk 2020, a nine-day Faith Pilgrimage of Reckoning, Resolve, and Love, taking place August 20-28, 2020. The pilgrimage is an opportunity for faith leaders and clergy to publicly demonstrate their commitment to “walk the walk” of reckoning with the narrative of anti-Blackness that colors our nation as well as faith institutions.
The walk has three goals: To Reckon with and apologize for personal and structural racism, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness actions and attitudes; to Resolve moving racial justice forward in the missions of in our faith traditions and nation, through voting, organizing, and advocacy; and to Reframethe faith narrative in this nation as we approach the 2020 election. In June, Faith in Action released a public declaration on this topic that has garnered more than 1700 signatures from the faith community. Click here to read the declaration.
Faith in Action is offering multiple ways for supporters to participate safely, as the nation is still in the thick of battling the coronavirus. Participants can join the route to walk from Charlottesville to Washington, D.C. for as many days as they desire as part of a small group; plan their own hometown walk; or join the group on August 28 at 7:00 a.m. ET at Rivergate City Park, 819 Rivergate Place, Alexandria, Va. for an eight-mile walk to Black Lives Matter Plaza (Lafayette Park) to commence the march.
There will also be a kick-off event and prayer on Thursday, August 20 at 8:00 a.m. at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in Charlottesville, Va., and a prayer and public action with area clergy and supporters on Thursday, August 27 at 2 p.m. ET at Contrabands and Freedmen Memorial Cemetery, 1001 S. Washington St, Alexandria, Va.
The walk will end on Friday, August 28 in Washington, which marks the 57th anniversary of the famed March on Washington, with a program at Lafayette Park at 10:00 a.m. ET in front of St. John’s Church. This event will be followed by the National Action Network Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks at the Lincoln Memorial. Lafayette Park is located at Pennsylvania Ave NW &, 16th Street Northwest, Washington, D.C.. All patrons are being asked to wear a mask and keep a safe distance from their fellow walkers.
Those interested in participating can register at www.walkthewalk2020.us.
For more information, contact Heather Cabral at 202-550-6880, heather@westendstrategy.com; Mary Lareau at 703-346-3027, can-comms@faithinaction.org; and Erin Williams at 202-748-0699, ewilliams@faithinaction.org.
Who: Faith in Action clergy, organizers, community leaders
What: Walk the Walk 2020, a 9 day Faith Pilgrimage of Reckoning, Resolve, and Love
When: August 20-28, 2020
Where: From Charlottesville, Va. to Washington, D.C.
Register: www.walkthewalk2020.us.
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Faith in Action, formerly known as PICO National Network, is the largest grassroots, faith-based organizing network in the United States. The nonpartisan organization works with 1,000 religious congregations in more than 200 cities and towns through its 46 local and state federations. For more information, visit www.faithinaction.org.
Faith in Action is a 501c(3). Faith in Action and its affiliates are non-partisan and are not aligned explicitly or implicitly with any candidate or party. We do not endorse or support candidates for office.
