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As the Supreme Court listened to arguments in favor of resegregating schools, thousands of people, mostly black high school students, rallied outside the Supreme Court to demand equal education. After the arguments, the group marched down the mall to the Lincoln Memorial.
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| Posted by Ted Stein at | | | |
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While over 20,000 people traveled to the gates of Fort Benning thousands more gathered in protests and vigils throughout the Americas. Coordinated actions protesting US militarism and calling for the closure of the SOA took place over the weekend of Nov. 18-19 in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Paraguay and Peru, as well as in Ireland, Canada and at other sites in the US.
This year’s vigil was the largest gathering in support of Latin American Solidarity since the 1980s as well as the largest protest at the gates of a military base since the Vietnam War.
The annual vigil has grown in size and scope every year, from about a dozen people to over 20,000 this year. What began as an attempt to expose the atrocities that were being committed by School of the America’s graduates, has grown into the nexus of US-based resistance to militarism in Latin American.
Despite harsh jail sentences of three to six months in prison, sixteen people – including two grandmothers and one priest – carried the protest on to the grounds of the military base and became prisoners of conscious.
Event organized by SOA Watch.
(Some of these pictures also appear on the SOA Watch website and Presente! newsletter.)
A Mayan Priest blesses the crowd Sunday morning
Actors, representing victims, symbolically died at the gates of Fort Benning
Small vestages of lives lost lined the road to Fort Benning
Two women honoring the memory of Oscar Romero during the symbolic funeral procession
No Mas, No More
Nuns with the Sisters of Christian Charity
Frankie Flores of TASSC, with an fmln flag
Rev. Charles Steele
The Oaxaca Puppet
Military Police watching over the crowd of non-violent protestors
The wall seperating the vigil from the base has grown more intimidating year after year. Now, the line is three fences topped with barbed wire and patroled by armed guards.
Those willing to surrender their freedoms to expose the torture and murders made it onto the grounds of the base and now face trial in January. Please consider writing to prisoners. |
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| Posted by Ted Stein at | | | |
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Yesterday on the corner of 18th and Columbia, NW, around a dozen protestors, mostly dressed as clowns, demanded that McDonalds stop clowning around with worker's rights.
The protest was one of over 40 around the country, and was organized by the Student Farmworker Alliance in solidarity of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). The CIW is made up of tomato pickers in Florida, who have been living under brutal, dehumanizing conditions.
In 2005, the CIW and a coalition of US college student, won a penny more per pound of tomatoes (the CIW's only demand), after a four year boycott of Taco Bell. The CIW is now demanding the same, a penny more per pound, from McDonald's.
At around 1pm, a half dozen college students from Georgetown and George Washington University lined up in front of the Adams Morgan McDonald's, on the corner of 18th and Columbia, and began chanting and handing out information about the conditions of the Immokalee workers. Over the next hour, the crowd swelled to over a dozen as more college students, and local residents joined in.
The response from the community was positive, with a large number asking where they can learn more about the topic. A letter was delivered to the manager of the McDonald's asking him to support the penny more per pound.
Organized by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Student Farmworker Alliance.
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| Posted by Ted Stein at | | | |
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As President Bush signed the Military Comissions Act of 2006, about two hundred people gathered in the rain in front of the White House to mourn the death of basic liberties.
After listening to leaders of the religious social justice movement and a choir siging religious hymns, the mourners began a funeral procession to the west gate of the White House. Upon arriving at the gate, those gathered asked the guards at the White House gate to deliver a signing statement to President Bush.
The police surrounded an area with yellow tape and then ordered everyone on the other side of it. Sixteen people refused and were arrested.
Organized by the Washington Region Religious Campaign Against Torture.
(Some of these photos also appear in this month's issue of The Progressive and Sojourners.)
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| Posted by Ted Stein at | | | |
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Yesterday's World Can't Wait ralley in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House, was one of what organizers say was over 240 ralleys held around the country to drive out the Bush Regime. After four hours of speeches the crowd walked over to the White House and lined the front with crime scene tape. Despite a full page ad in the New York Times and USA Today, attendence was minimal at only about 300. There was no civil disobedience and nobody got arrested.
Organized by the World Can't Wait.
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| Posted by Ted Stein at | | | |
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Over the past week, hundreds of Americans were arrested for engaging in civil disobedience while protesting the ongoing war in Iraq. Resistance Media covered the DC events, which began on Thursday, the 21st, when over 30 were arrested, including the Rev. Yearwood of the DC based Hip Hop Caucus, while attempting to deliver a Declaration of Peace to the White House.
Friday, Code Pink did a number of banner drops in the Atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building, encouraging their representatives to Vote for Peace. Their voices filled the hallways of Hart, singing out 'War is Over ... If You Want It.' The Police respected Code Pink's first amendment rights and nobody was arrested.
On the following Tuesday, the police arrested around 100 people on the lawn of the capitol, the steps of the Russell Senate Office Building, and the Atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building. The day began with an inter faith vigil, where the crowd of about 250 listened to Rabbis, Priests, and Buddhists expressing their thoughts about declaring peace and accepting the consequences of civil disobedience.
Yesterday's event, the last of what the organizers label 'the first phase of the Declaration of Peace,' was a solemn symbolic funeral procession to the Russell Senate Office Building. The marchers marched in silence; only the sounds of drums and police motorcycles filled the air as the coffins, draped in flags and black cloth, were carried down the streets of Capitol Hill, past the Capitol and stunned tourists, to the doors of Russell.
Those willing to risk jail to help end the war in Iraq lay down in front of the doors of the office building, not allowing senators or their staff to enter or leave the building. While protestors read the names and ages of the dead, both Iraqi and American, police began arresting the peaceful protestors.
The following photographs are from yesterday. See the archives for photographs of the other days.
(Some of these photos also appear in this month's Peace Work as well defense exhibits 2(a) through 2(g))
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| Posted by Ted Stein at | | | |
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Pictures also on Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman. Resistance Media photographs from 25 minutes 22 seconds to 27 minutes 37 seconds; just click to view video.
Over 70 people were arrested today during a die in at the Hart Senate Office Building, the Russell Senate Office Building and the Capitol.
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An Inter-Faith Vigil Before the Action
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Ashes are Poured Into Water
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Meanwhile, at Russell...
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And then at Hart ...
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The building was effectively shut down:
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| Posted by Ted Stein at | | | |
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At 11.30 this morning Code Pink did a series of banner drops inside the Senate Hart Office Building. The first action spanned six floors of the building, when women -- dressed in letters that spelled out 'NO WAR' -- removed their outer clothing to deliver the message to the senators and their staffs.
(Some of these photos also appear on Code Pink's website.)
All of the Code Pink members began softly singing 'war is over / if you want it.' Despite the low volume, the singing filled the building with Code Pink's hopeful message.
The police quickly noticed, but were not sure what to do. As the police pondered what their course of action would be, other members of Code Pink dropped a 3 story tall pink slip, asking the senators to vote for peace.
Other banners soon began appearing from other balcolnies.
The banners stayed out for about 15 minutes, and the singing filled the halls of the senate office building, coming from virtually every floor.
When all of the banners were rolled up, everyone regrouped in the atrium and decided that arms are for hugging.
Individual hugs proved insufficient, so everyone held hands for a group hug.
Everyone agreed that the action was succesful and the police decided to respect Code Pink's first amendment rights.
Code Pink headed outside and joined together to continue their message.
A number of people decided to do another action at the Rayburn House Building, and Code Pink began walking in that direction, still singing.
At the Rayburn building, Code Pink was only able to deliver their message from the outside, as they were denied entry by the police, who told them that signs were not allowed in the building.
Both the police and Medea Benjamin, one of the founders of Code Pink, called their legal counsel to see if clothing counted as signs.
After a metaphysical debate about when a piece of clothing becomes a sign, the police decided that the clothing did count as signs and would not allow Code Pink entry into the building with their clothing. The police kindly offered to hold the lettered clothing so that Code Pink could enter the building and engage in more traditional lobbying. |
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| Posted by Ted Stein at | | | |
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Today, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Pax Christi, Code Pink, the Hip Hop Caucus, and concerned citizens from across the country marched to the West Gate of the White House to deliver the Declaration of Peace, signed by tens of thousands of Americans, which demands a quick withdrawl of US troops.
The day began with a Code Pink breakfast, where members broke an 80 day liquids only fast on a pink blanket in front of the White House. Following breakfast, there was a press conference where speakers from IVAW, Code Pink, the Hip Hop Caucus, and a number of churches around the country spoke of the devestation occuring in Iraq and the need to declare peace.
After the press conference, people formed lines, joined hands, and marched to the West Gate. Standing at the West Gate, the Rev. Yearwood read the Declaration of Peace to the White House. After the reading, those willing to risk arrest to end the war sat down and refused to leave. Soon, the police forced everyone except those with press credentials (corporate media) to go to an area too far away for photographs as the police arrested the protestors.
Today's action at the White House began a week of actions all over the country where people will risk arrest to encourage the US government to declare peace.
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| Posted by Ted Stein at | | | |
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