Unity March
March to Give Voice to the Voiceless
Utica University and the Utica DEI Community Partnership are calling on the Utica community to join us as we march together to give voice to the voiceless.
Attendees will gather at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 21, beginning at the Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency, Inc., at 1100 Miller Street. The march will begin at 6 p.m., ending at Utica’s City Hall – about 0.6 miles in total.
Participants are welcome to join the Partnership for the full march, part of the march, or to meet at the ending City Hall location based on their personal ability and comfortability. The Utica Police Department will be diverting traffic to ensure participants’ safety.
Utica University students are invited to attend a poster-making event on campus shortly before the march at 4 p.m. in the Strebel Student Center. A free shuttle bus will then take them to and from the march, leaving from outside Strebel at 5 p.m.
Community leaders will speak at City Hall at 6:30 p.m., covering various topics of justice and humanity as we focus on the themes of “Quality of Life in Our Neighborhoods” and giving voice to the voiceless. The list of guests is as follows:
Robert Palmieri, Mayor of the City of Utica
Reverend Sharon Baugh, Pastor at Hope Chapel AME Zion Church & President of the Utica/Oneida Chapter of the NAACP
Evon Ervin, Oneida County Legislator D-20
Jawwaad Rasheed, Chair of the Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties Board of Trustees / Retired Oneida County Family Court Support Magistrate
Dr. Tod Laursen, President of SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Dr. Randy VanWagoner, President of Mohawk Valley Community College
Dr. Laura Casamento, President of Utica University
Dr. Clem Harris, Associate Professor of History at Utica University
There will also be an opportunity to sign the Partnership's stance statement to commit to ensuring equity in the greater Mohawk Valley area.
The event will end by 8 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.