Love March Along Georgia Avenue this Saturday “to stand up for and celebrate diversity”

From an email:

“While we can’t prevent every act of aggression or stop every divisive national policy, one thing we can do is let our diverse neighbors know that we stand together in solidarity.

The March will start at Emery Rec Center at 10:30am, marching down Georgia Av with a mid-point rally at Bruce Monroe Park and a closing celebration at the African American Civil War Memorial. Performers include student Elena of Elena y Los Fulanos, poet Zein El-Amine, and an Ethiopian dance duo. There will also be discounts at local businesses for marchers and tables at the end celebration with more ways to get involved in inclusive community organizations.”

From a press release:

“On March 11th local community members will come together for a march and rally along the Georgia Avenue corridor to stand up for and celebrate diversity. The goal of the Love March is to stand in solidarity with DC’s diverse communities and send the message “whoever you are, wherever you’re from, we stand together as neighbors.”

The march will begin at 10:30am at Emery Recreation Center and head down Georgia Avenue. There’ll be a mid-point rally at the Bruce Monroe Park in Parkview / Columbia Heights around 12:30pm. The march will end with a celebration at the African American Civil War Memorial at 1:30pm that will feature performers and information tables from local organizations.

Local speakers and performers will include Councilmember Robert White, Latino singer/songwriters Elena y Los Fulanos and Lilo Gonzalez, African singer/songwriter Isma, and youth singer Nylah Plummer.

The goal of the march is to celebrate diversity, to bring visibility to minority business owners along the Georgia Avenue corridor, and to connect attendees to engagement opportunities at organizations fighting every day for those who are marginalized in our communities.

The organizing committee is a group of concerned community members, many of whom are educators, who witnessed the fear and sadness in their students and colleagues as hateful rhetoric and antagonist messages spread across the country. “We can’t prevent every act of aggression or every national policy, but we can let our neighbors know that we stand together and we have their backs,” said co-organizer Elizabeth Bergner.

Co-organizer Berenice Pernalete who left her home country of Venezuela when Hugo Chavez came to power sees striking similarities between Trump’s divisive rhetoric and the one used by Chavez. She said, “This march is an opportunity to stay woke. To come together and show that we stand for love and inclusion here in the District.”