Locals marching from Bakersfield to Sacramento to protest cuts
| Wednesday, Mar 03 2010 05:12 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Mar 03 2010 05:12 PM
Frustrated by cuts to state and local services, six Californians are preparing to march on Sacramento.
Why is that news? People march on the state Capitol every day.
But these six are starting in Bakersfield.
On Friday, the marchers will begin a 48-day, 260-mile walk they're calling the "March for California's Future." The six, to be joined by others along the route, will wind their way through dozens of cities and towns in the valley. Along the way, they will meet with community leaders and organizations and hold rallies and public meetings.
The marchers are calling on the state to restore education and other public services they say are essential for restoring the "California dream."
Irene Gonzalez, a juvenile probation officer from Los Angeles, pointed to the state closure of a fire camp that had been teaching 63 teens how to fight fires.
"A lot of these kids were learning for the first time that there really is an alternative to the streets. People think of them as bad kids but most of them really want to do better," Gonzalez said. "They have just never been given the guidance, motivation and attention needed to succeed. If we're cutting resources for these kids, what is to become of them in the future?"
"We are slamming shut the doors of opportunity and gutting our infrastructure," said fellow marcher Jim Miller, a community college professor from San Diego. "I don't want to see state parks and schools closed, our prisons privatized and our citizens denied care because our leaders lack wisdom, courage and the ability to work together. I am marching because I want my son Walt and the kids of the farm workers in the towns I'll be marching through in the Central Valley to have the opportunity for a better future."
Rev. Eddie Hare, president of the Ministers' Association of Kern County, said churches are getting involved in the march because the issues impact church members.
"A lot of the students who go to the schools, they go to the local churches. The faith community has to be involved and informed so we can help them," he said.
That means pushing for a progressive tax system and "an economy that works for all Californians," he said.
"Our kids need a future, and the future is in education," he said.
The march will begin in Bakersfield on Friday with a 1 1/2-mile walk from Compassion Christian Church, 1030 Fourth St., to Martin Luther King Jr. Park for a 3:30 p.m. rally.
On Saturday morning, the walkers are slated to set off for Shafter.
-- JMarch for California's Future press release
