The “Justice and Human Rights Committee,” as part of building unity in these difficult times, will lead a pilgrimage march and cultural celebration on Saturday, April 25 – beginning at 9:30 am at the Pomona Valley Pride center (235 W. Mission Blvd) and ending with a collective Ohlone Pow Wow celebration at Tony Cerda Park (450 W. Grand Ave.).
This year’s march (as a collaboration between the Latino and Latina Roundtable, community-based organizations of the Pomona Valley region, and the Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe) will begin at a 200-year-old tree to honor the elders in our community; stop at a recently-completed mural which includes leaders Tina Calderon and Dolores Huerta; march through Pomona neighborhoods; and arrive at Tony Cerda Park (where the participants will join in a circle of unity, participate in cultural and scholarship presentations, and join in a tribute to indigenous women and the planting of a “young tree” to honor the unity of elder and young generations in constructing a more equitable society).
The march will be led by the T. C. Azteca Danza Group, the Son Real band, and the scholarship recipients. The speakers will include: a welcome from Pride Center director Frank Guzman and Mayor Tim Sandoval and presentations from Angela Sanbrano, Councilperson Erik Nakano, poet Madeline Rios, former Pomona Laureate Cesar Avelar, NAACP representatives, and Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe leaders Claudia Munoz and Tony Cerda. Music and traditional songs will be provided by the Cantauores, and the dA Center Mariachis. Inter-generational folklorico dances will be presented by Jalisco No Te Rajes.
All proceeds and donations from the Pilgrimage march and cultural celebration are used as scholarships for students and recent graduates who are exemplary in connecting their studies to community engagement. To date, every one of the scholarship recipients has graduated from a college or university.
Sponsors include: Latino/Latina Roundtable of the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe, Pomona Valley Pride, California State Retirees Chapter 9, Gente Organizada, Pomona Economic Opportunity Center, National Council of Negro Women Pomona Valley, Chicano Moratorium Committee, LULAC Ontario, UFCW Local 1428, Youth and Family Club of Pomona Valley, Indigeknowledge, Laverne Student Forum, PUSD, City of Pomona, Latino Student Union of Pitzer College Human Values Center (Day of Healing)
