Philly activist begins 150-mile march from Philly to D.C. to push for stronger gun and police reform legislation

For the seventh year, Philadelphia activist Jamal Johnson laced up his black Nikes and began his 150-mile trek to Washington, D.C., to call on the nation’s leaders to pass federal police reform legislation and stricter gun laws.

On his 66th birthday, Johnson gathered outside Philadelphia Police Department Headquarters on North Broad Street with fellow activists, community leaders, and families affected by gun violence to begin his annual “Stop Killing Us” march to Washington.

The group prayed for Johnson’s safety as he began his journey, and joined him on the first leg of his trek. On Friday, he would walk to City Hall and the District Attorney’s Office, then head west to Cobbs Creek.

The Marine veteran’s annual march started in 2017 after a Philadelphia police officer fatally shot David Jones twice in the back. He vowed he would march to the steps of the U.S. Capitol each year to call on the Congressional Black Caucus to pass police reform legislation. Then, in 2021, his march earned another purpose: to advocate for federal resources and action to stem the flow of illegal guns into Philadelphia’s streets amid an unprecedented gun violence crisis.

“The George Floyd [Justice in Policing Act] still hasn’t passed, and there still hasn’t been a strategy delivered from the Black Caucus about the gun violence issue going on in the nation and in our community,” Johnson said in an interview Friday. “It’s the same persistent demands.”

As of Thursday night, 81 people have been killed in homicides in Philadelphia this year, which is about 18% fewer than the same time last year, but still more than 30 deaths higher compared to five years ago.

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Johnson is a fixture in the city. Almost daily, he can be found standing on a block where a person was recently killed, donning his signature “Stop Killing Us” sign, mask, and hat.

In 2021, he went on a 26-day hunger strike outside City Hall to urge Mayor Jim Kenney to declare a state of emergency over gun violence. (Kenney did not.) In 2022, he walked 90 miles to then-Gov. Tom Wolf’s Harrisburg home. He has called on the city to bring in the Pennsylvania National Guard “to do what Philadelphia police are too short-staffed to do.”

His latest trek should take about 21 days, he said, and he’s not sure how many people will join — friends and strangers often stop in for brief stints along the way.

“I will always stand with this man,” said City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier of West Philadelphia. “If he can put his own body on the line, then I can show up on this issue every single day.”

“He’s consistent,” community organizer Bilal Qayyum said. “You have to be consistent.”

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Among those gathered outside Police Headquarters Friday was the family of Kyle Singleton, a 30-year-old mental health counselor and small-business owner, who was fatally shot in North Philadelphia last May. On the Friday closest to the 11th of each month, the date he was killed, Singleton’s loved ones march through the city to bring attention to his case, which, like hundreds in the city, remains unsolved.

When they heard that Johnson was having a march of his own, they decided to join, said Kyle’s mother, Denise Singleton

Her son’s death has left his large extended family heartbroken, and without justice, they can’t move forward, she said.

“He was everything to everybody,” she said. “We need to know who did this to Kyle.”

Singleton’s family marched with Johnson down Broad Street, then stopped outside the District Attorney’s Office to hold their collection of signs honoring Kyle.

Meanwhile, Johnson’s supporters wished him good luck and farewell. Donnie Andrews, 75, who met Johnson about a year ago, found himself captivated by his persistence and consistency. Andrews, a lifelong Philadelphian, said he has seen nine young men from his block, in the Logan section of the city, get killed in recent years. Every Memorial Day, he raises a clothesline outside his house and hangs up shirts honoring their names.

Derrick Pratt, 49, the founder of West Philly organization We Embrace Fatherhood, which uses art and fitness to connect with young people, lost two younger brothers, Joseph and Terrell, to homicides in 2002 and 2006. Pratt said Johnson inspires him to never settle or slow down in this work.

“We have to be constantly active,” he said. “We have to have a presence in our community to help save our youth.”