Every protester counts
J20 gains momentum and media attention
By Elijah
Crane
Scores of activists from all over the country are mobilizing
to fill the streets of Washington by the busload on Jan. 20 to
protest George W. Bush's inauguration.
The all-encompassing issue at hand is the fight against
racism. Specific demands of protesters include: ending the
racist death penalty and freeing Mumia Abu-Jamal; stopping Plan
Colombia and the U.S. bombing of Vieques; supporting the just
struggle of the Palestinian people; the disenfranchisement of
Black voters and others in Florida; and many others.
"The U.S. ruling class has been caught in the act of a
fraudulent election," said Monica Moorehead, a leading
organizer of the demonstration. "This certainly is not the
first time it has happened. Every election that has taken place
in the U.S. has been bought or stolen. But this is the first
time in recent history that the thievery has been so blatant
and overt.
"There's no denying that thousands of Black voters in
Florida were the targets of a racist attack," Moorehead told
Workers World. "Despite the fact that Florida's ballot
controversy had been headlining the media since Election Day,
neither of the two presidential hopefuls so much as
acknowledged the issue of racism.
"And no amount of rhetoric on 'healing' and 'bipartisanship'
from President-elect Bush and Al Gore, who conceded, can smooth
things over now."
People are angry--from Texas to Florida, from New York to
California--and that is why they will be raising their voices
in Washington at the inauguration protest, she added.
J20 draws media attention
Over 400 groups and individuals have already endorsed the
call made by the International Action Center to protest in
Washington on Jan. 20, or 'J20', as some activists are
referring to it. That number continues to grow on a daily
basis.
As of Dec. 20, there were more than 30 organizing centers in
operation in New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Wisconsin,
Illinois, North Carolina and elsewhere.
Even the mainstream media has been forced to recognize this
growing mobilization, resulting in articles and radio
interviews with organizers.
An article in the Dec. 14 edition of the Washington Times
described the way in which the cops are preparing for the
upcoming counter-inaugural demonstration. Police Chief Charles
Ramsey cited last April's protests against the International
Monetary Fund, which shook the city of Washington, as a reason
for deploying not only the entire Metropolitan police force,
but also adding hundreds of cops from surrounding areas.
Brain Becker, co-director of the IAC, was quoted as saying
that "Charles Ramsey and the police are doing their usual
demonizing of the demonstrators, saying that we will cause
mayhem. The truth is that the police is the lawless group."
Becker has since given numerous radio interviews, including
one to the ABC network. Organizers of the J20 action have also
been interviewed by radio stations in Michigan, New York and
Washington.
The Colorado Daily newspaper was among the media that
highlighted the planned J20 action. In that article, Becker
explained that the protest was in the works long before the
election outcome was known. It was planned to take place
regardless of whether Gore or Bush were inaugurated because
both are strong supporters of the death penalty and other
methods of institutional violence--such as the U.S. sanctions
against Iraq and military aid to Colombia, he said.
For a complete list of organizing
centers, or to sign up as a contact, readers can visit the Web
site www.Mumia2000.org
or call the IAC at (212) 633-6646.
Organizers are also planning and communicating through an
e-mail
list server called "J20action." Anyone interested in
participating in that
ongoing discussion can register at www.egroups.com or click on
the link at www.Mumia2000.org.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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