‘Everybody join us on Dec. 1’

Dec. 1 marks the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks’ heroic effort against segregation, sparking the civil rights movement. Although she was not the first to refuse to give up her seat to a white man, her case was the loudest.

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Dec. 1 is now being called a Day of Absence, abstaining from school, work and shopping. If we do not fund our government for this day, we could shut this war down.

There will be events nationwide and a citywide strike here in New York on Wall Street. If we stand together on Dec. 1, our case will be heard as loud as Rosa Parks’ case years ago. Various organizations have been sending out a call for the nation to make Dec. 1 National Rosa Parks Day. Boston has already signed the resolution. This is especially important with the recent occurrence of Parks’ death.

Though the strike on Wall Street might be the loudest, it is not the only event in New York City honoring the Day of Absence. In fact, the whole day will be filled with events.

These events will begin at 9:30 a.m. and last through the afternoon. I’m organizing the morning events, which will eventually meet up with the afternoon events.

My events will include two marches and a rally. Great participants will be performing or just coming for solidarity in honoring this day. The rally itself will be held as if it were a benefit. There will be speakers on the significance of the day and entertainers either honoring this day or bringing rhythm. At the stage, dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, there will be a donation box for clothing, canned goods, toothbrushes, money, etc.

The day will start at 9:30 a.m. with a gathering at the corner of 19th Street and 8th Avenue. At 10:30 we will march to 14th Street, Union Square, where there will be a rally at 11:30 with various speakers and entertainers. At 3:20 p.m. we will march to Wall Street and Broadway, where we will meet up with the citywide rally that starts at 4 p.m.

We as a people need to show our faces on Dec. 1, in solidarity to make our voices heard. As a student and a citizen of this nation, I am obligated to stand out on the streets and say, “I do not approve of this racist war,” “I do not approve of these criminals in power,” and “I will stand in solidarity on Dec. 1.” The reason I am obligated to be on the streets then is because my generation is the one paying for this war.

My peers are the ones dying in this war and my peers are going to be paying off this war’s debt for generations to come. President Bush has borrowed more money from other nations, to fund this war, than all of our past presidents combined.

The word is out. On Dec. 1, we will say no to this government and to this war. We will say no to FEMA, but we will unite in solidarity on the grounds of Union Square and on the streets of Wall Street.

People are calling the morning events the students’ struggle. This is where the students will gather. But I say this is everybody’s struggle—students, teachers, whoever you are. Join us for an all-day event on Dec. 1.

-Mia Cruz
New York
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