'Oppose Bush's convention'
Black and anti-war groups to rally on King's birthday
By Deirdre Griswold
New York
A coalition of progressive forces, drawing
strength from New York's African American community as well as
from the anti-war movement, has called a protest for Jan. 15 at
the proposed site of this summer's Republican National
Convention.
A major force in the coalition is the Rev. Herbert Daughtry
of the House of the Lord Church in Brooklyn. Motivating the pro
test, he said, "If Dr. King were alive on his 75th birthday, I
have no doubt that he'd be with us in front of Madison Square
Garden on Jan. 15 to call on the president to bring the troops
home from Iraq and spend the country's money on lifting work
ers and poor people out of poverty."
Three African American members of the New York City
Council--Charles Barron, Larry Seabrook and Bill Perkins-- are
among the organizers of the King Day protest, which is also
being supported by the Harlem Tenants Council, the anti-war
coalition ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), 1199
Bread and Roses Cultural Project, the Center for Consti
tutional Rights, the NYC AIDS Housing Network, New York City
Labor Against the War, Queers for Peace and Justice, and other
community and activist organizations.
The organizers express indignation that George W. Bush's
party should come to New York for its convention when the vast
majority in the city are so opposed to his war in Iraq and his
reactionary domestic policies. They say the event is "in the
spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," who at the height of the
Vietnam War, on April 4, 1967, told an audience at New York
City's Riverside Church: "I knew that I could never again raise
my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos
without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of
violence in the world today--my own government. For the sake of
those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of
hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be
silent."
At the time King made that speech, Lyndon Johnson, a
Democrat, was president. The forces organizing the current
protest also make it clear that they are opposed to the pro-war
policies of both Republicans and Democrats.
City Council Member Charles Barron, whose history as a
militant fighter for the oppressed goes back to the Black
Panther Party, says, "We are rallying in front of the site of
Bush's re-election campaign rally next summer because New
Yorkers are angry about their city being used and abused by
Bush. It's really shameful and a little bizarre that Bush is
planning to occupy the city with his convention. New Yorkers
hate the war, and they don't like anyone, Republican or
Democrat, that chooses war over jobs, healthcare, schools and
decent housing."
The ANSWER coalition is mobilizing among anti-war forces in
the city and beyond. ANSWER organizer Larry Holmes says that
"This protest will kick off a grass-roots mobilization to
protest, not only the Republican National Convention, but the
politicians of both parties that are waging war against the
people of Iraq and against the poor and people of color here in
the U.S."
The rally will be held in front of Madison Square Garden at
32nd St. and 7th Ave., from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and will
demand "Bring the troops home now!" Nellie Bailey of the Harlem
Tenants Council says, "Nobody asked us if we wanted the
convention; we don't like it and we don't want it. It's not
true that the convention is going to bring all these jobs to
the city, even temporary jobs. Last week's New York Newsday had
an analytical piece debunking the notion that the convention is
going to bring jobs and financial help to New York City. I'd
like to tell Bush to send jobs, bring the troops home, and then
stay home yourself, far away from New York City."
Reprinted from the Jan. 8, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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