The families of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Akai Gurley — five black males killed while unarmed — will attend tomorrow’s March on Washington.
A coalition of civil rights groups, led by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, is organizing the march. Dr. Roger Mitchell is adviser to the Hip Hop Caucus, which is a member of the coalition, and Washington D.C.’s chief medical examiner.
Mitchell tells Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson why a national march is necessary.
Interview Highlights: Dr. Roger Mitchell
On why this march is needed, after protests across the country
“Like any other demonstration, it’s to maintain this issue in the public consciousness. It also allows for people who may not have been able participate in local marches, whether they happened in D.C. or other cities throughout the nation, to allow them to come out. And probably the third prong is to bring it to a national attention. Anytime there is a march on Washington D.C., the public consciousness realizes that an issue needs to be brought to a national level.”
On the goals of the Justice for All March
“The Hip Hop Caucus and the coalition want to see a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to law enforcement of all communities in the country, and then in particular that there is proper data collection surrounding the death and injury of citizens.”
Guest
- Dr. Roger Mitchell, chief medical examiner for Washington, D.C. He tweets @rmitch_jr.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.