WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Green Party of the United States will hold a rally across the street from Ferguson, Missouri Police Headquarters on Saturday, July 25, during the party's Annual National Meeting in St. Louis from July 23 to 26.

The rally, which will take place 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., will call for an end to racial injustice, especially the killing of people of color by police and right-wing extremists, the recent burning of Black churches in southern states, deep racial disparities in the justice system, mass incarceration, and unrestrained police-prosecutorial power. Rally participants will show support for black and working class communities all over the country demanding a $15 an hour minimum wage and a future free of state oppression.

"When we gather in Ferguson, we'll stand in solidarity with Black communities all over the country, with the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and with any community being targeted by their municipality to prop up the prison-industrial complex. The Ferguson police department has been the flashpoint for many injustices and our stand there will be symbolic," said Andrea Mérida, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States and member of the party's Latinx Caucus.

The rally address is 222 South Florissant Road in Ferguson. The Green Party and Socialist Alternative St. Louis will host the event. (More: https://www.facebook.com/events/1459041297747078)

#BlackLivesMatter, the most powerful Black freedom movement in the past 40 years, has waged a courageous struggle against police brutality and systems of racism and white supremacy. The nationwide movement began in Ferguson with the murder of Mike Brown.

Rally speakers will include Ms. Mérida, George Martin (Green Party International Committee and Black Caucus), Darryl Cherney (Earth First! activist), Jill Stein (physician and activist), Ashton Rome (Socialist Alternative St. Louis), and others.

Greens will call attention to revelations that Ferguson police, prosecutors, and courts have conspired to create revenue by turning the local Black population into a criminal class, subjecting the city's poor and working-class Black residents to endless fines, brutality, and detention.

Greens said that it's unlikely Ferguson is the only city that has engaged in these practices, which harmonize with "broken windows" policing and brutality against Black residents in cities like Baltimore. (See excerpts of the Justice Department's report on Ferguson in "Debtor's Prison in Ferguson: the Brutality of Racism, Up Close and Personal" at http://www.thomhartmann.com/forum/2015/05/debtors-prison-ferguson-brutality-racism-close-and-personal)

See also this Green Party press release: "Crisis of ongoing police violence, mass incarceration, racial disparities requires a deep overhaul of the justice system and the nation's response to racism," June 19 (http://www.gp.org/newsroom/press-releases/details/4/818).

The Green Party's Annual National Meeting will take place on the South Campus of the University of Missouri-Saint Louis (https://www.umsl.edu). Many of the meeting events are open to the media and general public. A credentialing page for reporters, bloggers, and other members of the media interested in covering the events, including press conferences, has been posted online (http://2015greenpartyconvention.org/media-credentials).

The meeting will feature Green Party panels, workshops, meetings of the Green National Committee (not open to the media and public), and other events. Green candidates running in 2015 and 2016 and Green elected officials are expected to attend.

Many of the events will be aired on the Green Party's Livestream channel (http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus). Except for the rally in Ferguson on Saturday afternoon, July 25, all events will take place on the UMSL campus (maps: http://www.umsl.edu/maps.html).

A forum for candidates seeking the Green presidential nomination will take place Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. For more information about the Green Party's nomination process, visit the web site of the Green Party's Presidential Campaign Support Committee (http://www.gp.org/pcsc-mission-statement).

Green Party Livestream Interviews

Interviews with candidates for the Green Party's presidential nomination are continuing weekly on the party's Livestream channel. The next interview will take place on Thursday, July 23 at 9 p.m. ET and will feature SKCM Curry. (https://www.facebook.com/events/1620393501571045).

Interview with Darryl Cherney, hosted by Craig Seeman, recorded July 8:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTcVd8oGxsI

Interview with Kent Mesplay, hosted by Craig Seeman, recorded July 15:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afiVks8D6jU

Green Party 2015 Annual National Meeting
Schedule of Events for the Media

Thursday, July 23, 4 p.m. Press Conference: Introduction to the Green Party's 2015 Annual National Meeting

Friday, July 24, 9 a.m. Press Conference with Green candidates and officeholders, guest speakers (participants TBA)

Friday, July 24, 11 a.m. Press Conference with Green candidates and officeholders, guest speakers (participants TBA)

Friday, July 24, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Presidential Forum with declared candidates for the Green nomination

Saturday, July 25, 12:15 p.m. Luncheon, with keynote speaker James Lane (http://www.votejameslane.org)

Saturday, July 25, 3:30-5:00 p.m. Rally in front of Ferguson Police Department, 222 South Florissant Road, Ferguson, Missouri; Green leaders and local activists will speak (more details TBA)

Details for all of these events are subject to change.

Greens to rally for racial justice at Ferguson Police Dept. during the Green Party's 2015 Annual National Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, July 23-26

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Friday, July 17, 2015

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-904-7614, [email protected]
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, [email protected]
Tamar Yager, Annual National Meeting Committee, 502-296-3849, [email protected]

Green Party Annual Meeting: Thursday, July 23, to Sunday, July 26, 2015, at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis, South Campus, in St. Louis, Missouri
Campus maps: http://www.umsl.edu/maps.html

Rally in Ferguson: Saturday, July 25, 3:30 to 5 p.m., 222 South Florissant Road, Ferguson, Mo.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1459041297747078

Green Party Livestream weekly interviews with Green presidential candidates: http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Next interview: Thursday, July 23, 9 p.m. ET https://www.facebook.com/events/1620393501571045

2015 Annual Meeting Web site: http://2015greenpartyconvention.org
Media Credentialing: http://2015greenpartyconvention.org/media-credentials
Events page: https://www.facebook.com/events/348483265348364
Green Party Livestream Channel: http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Registration: http://signups-gpus.nationbuilder.com/2015_anm

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191

Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/election-news
News Center http://www.gp.org/newsroom
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/newsroom/speakers-bureau
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballot-access-committee
Video Page http://www.gp.org/newsroom/green-videos
Green Papers http://www.greenpapers.net/
Discussion Forum https://secure.gpus.org/secure/GreenPartyForum
Google+ http://www.gp.org/google
Twitter http://twitter.com/GreenPartyUS
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Facebook page http://www.gp.org/facebook

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States
http://greenpagesnews.org

Green Shadow Cabinet http://greenshadowcabinet.us

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