Rallies defend civil rights
March on FBI building in D.C.
See also: 30 cities hit
Bush, Ashcroft
By Greg Butterfield
Washington, D.C.
Speaking to a crowd gathered outside the Justice Department
and FBI headquarters, Brian Becker declared, "The last thing
that President Bush, Attorney General Ashcroft and FBI Director
Mueller want to see is hundreds and thousands of people in the
streets, saying we will resist the repression against
immigrants and defend our right to protest."
Becker is a spokesperson for ANSWER--the Act Now to Stop War
and End Racism coalition--which organized the Washington
demonstration. Activists in 30 other cities responded to the
coalition's call and organized local actions to defend civil
rights.
Close to 1,000 people turned out for this bold protest on
the very doorstep of the police agencies that have rounded up
and detained without charge thousands of Arab, Muslim and South
Asian immigrants since 9/11. Now the government is also moving
to strip the rights of U.S. citizens it labels "enemy
combatants."
Those who came represented a wide swath of the U.S. working
class and political movement, from Muslim workers brought by
their mosques and lesbian, gay, bi and trans activists to union
members and the anti-war movement. Young people marched
alongside grandparents and families. Many carried the flag of
embattled Palestine or wore T-shirts supporting political
prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Noting the crowd's strength in diversity, and saying that
the president speaks only for the 1 percent of the population
that owns 40 percent of the wealth, Becker said, "We are Bush's
worst nightmare."
While the numbers were modest compared to the 100,000-strong
protest in solidarity with Palestine on April 20, organizers
emphasized that June 29 represented a rising fight-back against
the widening domestic assault on people's rights.
In May, Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director
Robert Mueller announced a vast expansion of police powers to
target groups and individuals in the name of "homeland
security." This included lifting restrictions that had been
placed on domestic spying after the 1976 exposure of
Cointelpro. This FBI Counter Intelligence Program was set up to
divide, conquer and destroy the civil rights, Black Power,
anti-war and other progressive movements.
Many workers do not yet know that they will be affected by
this beefing up of police measures. And some in the progressive
movement may be fearful of taking a stand in the current
political climate. Organizers said they hoped this action would
show that it is necessary and possible to speak out and fight
back.
"We all have a stake in defending civil rights, and this
demonstration proves that people are responding," said Mahdi
Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society's
Freedom Foundation, who co-chaired the rally. "They say it's
about `homeland security.' As an African American, as a Muslim,
this is my home, and I don't feel more secure."
June 29-30 was Pride weekend in New York, San Francisco,
Chicago and other big cities. But many lesbian, gay, bi and
trans activists took time out to show their solidarity here
with a visible and vocal presence.
Lesbian trans activist and author Leslie Feinberg said, "Our
enemies are clever. They want us to think we can't work
together. That's what Cointelpro was about--dividing us and our
movement.
"We have people of many beliefs and nationalities here
today. That's our strength. There are those who said this could
not be done, but we are doing it today.
"We have to show our enemies that we are strong by staying
united," she concluded.
The need to build a united front against repression, racism
and war was echoed by many speakers. A statement from Rep.
Cynthia McKinney of Georgia said, "We must work together to
insure that our rights are protected."
Speaking of the raids on Muslims, the Rev. Graylan Hagler,
senior minister of Washington's Plymouth Congregational Church,
challenged the authorities, "If you come after them, I invite
you to come after me. Civil rights have always been treated as
a convenience by the leaders of this country. But we can
resist. We can take to the streets."
"The Bush administration is criminalizing dissent," charged
Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, an attorney with the Partnership for
Civil Justice. "Bush, with his all-war all-the-time agenda,
knows people will want to protest the spending of billions on
war while schools and health care are being cut back."
`We'll push the FBI back'
"These dangerous measures affect all of us," said Larry
Holmes, co-director of the International Action Center and
rally co-chair. "But we won't go back," he declared. "We'll
push the repression back. We'll push the FBI back."
Kathy Hoyt, executive coordinator of Nicaragua Network, told
how she and other Central America solidarity activists were
targeted for FBI harassment during the 1980s, including threats
against their children and other family members.
"Yesterday they came for us. Today we stand with you," she
pledged.
Other speakers testified that the latest government attacks
aren't abstract legal matters. Marcus Jean, a Haitian-born
member of the Boston school bus drivers' union, told how a job
grievance led to his being branded a "terrorist."
Amer Jubran, also from Boston, spoke on the case of young
Palestinian activist Jaoudat Abouazza, who was detained,
questioned by the FBI and tortured. Abouazza remains in
jail.
Sam Jordan brought greetings from African American political
prisoners Mumia Abu-Jamal and Eddie Conway, and urged support
for Imam Jamil Al-Amin. Teresa Gutierrez asked demonstrators to
sign a petition in support of five Cuban prisoners held in U.S.
jails because they infiltrated U.S.-backed anti-Cuba terrorist
groups.
"We're in the middle of the biggest corporate crime wave in
history," said IAC Co-director Sara Flounders, another rally
co-chair. She listed Enron, Tyco and WorldCom as examples.
"There's no Patriot Act against these corporate looters," she
pointed out.
Imam Abdul Alim Musa, representing Washington's largest
Black Muslim mosque, warned the crowd against swallowing any
U.S. justification for a new war. "When they want something,
they set the stage to do it," he said, citing famous pretexts
like the sinking of the battleship Maine and the Gulf of Tonkin
hoax. The Masjid al-Islam mosque also helped with security for
the demonstration.
Dr. Hani Awadallah of the Arab American Civic Organization
said: "There's no room for national liberation for the
Palestinians in the U.S. agenda. But Palestinian liberation
will go on no matter what George Bush, Ariel Sharon and
Condoleezza Rice say."
Free-speech fight on Washington Mall
A highlight of the day's activities was the march from the
FBI/Justice Department offices to Farragut Square Park.
The march passed the Folk Life Festival on the Mall.
Thousands of festival goers saw the demonstration. Many lined
the street to watch and listen, giving it the feeling of a
dynamic street meeting.
Organizers rapped to the crowd about the dangers to working
people of the Bush/Ashcroft measures. A popular chant was,
"Civil rights are under attack. What do we do? Act up, fight
back!"
Mounted Park Police threatened to arrest demonstrators
handing out leaflets to bystanders. When Brian Becker
protested, he was also threatened with arrest.
But ANSWER pushed back this police attempt to quash the
First Amendment. The Partnership for Civil Justice immediately
intervened on the leafleters' behalf.
Over the march's sound system, Becker told onlookers about
the police attempt to suppress free speech, causing some on the
sidewalks to join the protest.
After a concluding rally, protesters returned home, many
saying they felt a renewed sense of determination. They agreed
with Larry Holmes, who said, "This is the beginning of the
struggle to defend our movement."
Reprinted from the July 11, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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