ATLANTA
Activists confront Bush
By Dianne Mathiowetz
Atlanta
More than 1,000 protesters defied police
attempts to move them into a distant "free speech" area and
noisily denounced the anti-people, war-mongering policies of
President George W. Bush as he arrived at the gravesite of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. for a wreath-laying ceremony on Jan.
15.
Many in the crowd were incensed that Bush would exploit the
legacy of Dr. King and his contributions to the struggle for
justice, peace and equality for a campaign photo
opportunity.
When the very diverse demonstrators refused to leave the
sidewalk directly across from King's crypt, the police brought
in city buses to block people's view and access to the brief
ceremony.
Riot-geared police stood atop the buses. Sharpshooters were
positioned on the roofs of nearby buildings. A phalanx of
heavily armed police lined the street.
Nevertheless, the crowd spilled onto high er ground and
climbed onto fences and walls, and people raised their signs
over the buses. With drums, chants and boos, Bush's exercise in
political opportunism was disrupted.
The presidential entourage then sped down historic Auburn
Avenue--where still more protesters, unable to get to the King
gravesite, were at different corners.
Bush spent only a few minutes "honoring" King. He then spent
hours at a campaign fundraising dinner at the World Congress
Center that netted him at least $1.2 million for his 2004
election campaign. In his speech to the well-heeled crowd, he
made no mention of Dr. King.
The cost of Bush's trip to Atlanta, estimated at over
$300,000, will be born by taxpayers because of his
"presidential" ceremony at the gravesite.
The White House staff had called the King Center just days
before to announce the presidential visit. Longstanding plans
for an all-day program on human rights with participation from
a broad range of activists and leaders, including Maria Elena
Durazo of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, were put in
jeopardy.
The Secret Service said that Bush's security required that
the entire area around the crypt be sealed off for four hours
before his arrival and that Auburn Avenue be cleared of cars.
No one would be able to visit the gravesite on what would have
been Dr. King's 75th birthday for most of the day. Participants
in the human rights conference would be barred from entering or
leaving historic Ebenezer Baptist Church from noon on.
The MLK March Committee, which has annually organized the
public events honoring and continuing the message of Dr. King,
refused these conditions.
In news conferences, the civil-rights lead ers recalled that
on King's birthday in 2003, Bush announced his opposition to
affirmative action and was actively pushing for war against
Iraq.
This year, Bush waited until Jan. 16 to announce his recess
appointment of Charles Pickering to the 5th Circuit federal
appeals court in New Orleans. Pickering's nomination has been
vigorously opposed by civil-rights, labor and women's
organizations.
There was worldwide news coverage of the Atlanta protest.
Headlines in major newspapers blared that Bush had been booed
at King's gravesite.
Organizers of the protest, including the Rev. Timothy
McDonald of Concerned Black Clergy and the various member
organiz ations of the Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition,
noted that people had broken the zone of insulation from
protest and dissent that has become a defining trademark of the
Bush presidency.
Articles in the Atlanta newspapers before Bush's visit had
detailed the Secret Service's elaborate efforts to deny any
effec tive protest against him. In city after city, the rights
of free speech and assembly are routinely denied so that Bush
rarely is personally confronted by opposition to his
policies.
For many in Thursday's demonstration, the outrage they felt
at Bush's hypocritical use of Dr. King's message of universal
justice and peace overcame any police intimidation.
Reprinted from the Jan. 29, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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