March for Divestment

press release: Activists in Madison will participate in the 2017 Global Divestment Mobilization with a rally and march May 5, 2017, beginning at 3:30. Demonstrators will proceed around the Capitol Square to visit four banks which provide funding for pipeline projects, such as Dakota Access, which are being built at the expense of Native people and people of color. The activists will deliver demands that these financial institutions divest from fossil fuel infrastructure.

The event is occurring as part of a Week of Mobilization, which is taking place on six continents. Planned actions include calling on banks and universities to divest from oil and coal, as well as encouraging consumers to stop banking with institutions that fund fossil fuel projects, and lighting up the streets with guerilla art actions to “demand divestment and spread the message about the devastating effects of the fossil fuel industry on the environment,” says the Global Divestment Mobilization’s website.

Support for divestment is growing exponentially around the world as foundations, cities, countries, museums, universities, and faith institutions join the movement to remove their money from the fossil fuel industry and companies profiting from the destruction of the planet. As more and more entities divest from fossil fuels, pipelines and other infrastructure projects become financially infeasible. By turning off the flow of money, activists hope to shut down the flow of oil.

Participants will march in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, whose platform demands “investments in Black communities, determined by Black communities, and divestment from exploitative forces” including fossil fuels. March for Divestment organizers call for a commitment to the wellbeing of future generations as well as a commitment to ending the racially-disparate impact that Madison’s investments have today on a local, national, and global scale.

The event, sponsored by 350Madison, Divest Madison: Madison NODAPL, and Divestment Solidarity, will be held from 3:30 to 6:00 PM on Friday, May 5, at Madison’s Capitol Square. Signs, banners, speakers, and literature on how to personally divest will encourage onlookers to join this growing movement.