March for Divestment set for Madison on May 5

Activists on May 5 will participate in the 2017 Global Divestment Mobilization with a rally and march at 3:30 p.m. in Madison.

Demonstrators will proceed around the Capitol Square to visit four banks that 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 global 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 guerrilla 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 in the Madison action 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, according to a news release.

The event, sponsored by 350Madison, Divest Madison: Madison NODAPL and Divestment Solidarity, will be held 3:30–6 p.m. on May 5, at Madison’s Capitol Square.