Activists protest FEMA, racism & war

As part of nationwide activities marking the 20th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, community and anti-war activists from Washington, D.C., and Baltimore joined forces on Jan. 16 by protesting at the national headquarters of FEMA to demand justice for Katrina survivors and call for an end to racism.

FEMA protest, Jan. 16. WW photo: Washington, D.C., bureau

The group then marched to Homeland Security headquarters at the Borders and Customs office to protest the bigoted anti-immigrant bill recently passed by Congress.

Protesters chanted, picketed and unfurled huge banners. But what energized the group was the community-type speak-out that put FEMA and the Bush administration on notice that the progressive movement will not let people of color stand alone in a pivotal struggle that is clearly about racism and national oppression.

Who should control the fate of the Gulf Coast is clearly at the heart of the issue. Should the Black masses who have been brutally displaced, dispersed and murdered determine what communities are rebuilt and by whom or should the wealthy class of developers, Bush’s cronies and the military determine this?

“If Dr. King was alive today, this is where he would be; in front of the FEMA headquarters to stop the evictions of the hurricane survivors and to demand justice!” proclaimed Andre Powell, representing Troops Out Now Coalition (TONC) in Baltimore. Powell co-chaired the protest along with Sharon Black, a community and union activist from the Million Worker March Movement.

“We want a moratorium on all evictions. We are also demanding that the people of New Orleans and the Delta have a right to return and a right to determine the development of the area. Even the basic democratic right to vote in the upcoming mayoral election has been denied. These were many of the same rights that Dr. King Jr. fought and died for,” Black stated.

Renee Washington described the horrendous conditions that the people of the New Orleans’ ninth ward have suffered. Washington recently participated in a delegation to the Dec. 9 and 10 New Orleans protest and conference lead by Katrina survivors. Her companion, Joey Wilbon, was murdered by Baltimore city police. She has remained an outspoken activist against police brutality, racism and abuse.

“You can’t imagine. There is no electricity. You can’t drink the water; it’s poison. Nothing has been done at all to help the people. Nothing! Garbage is in the street; sewage is everywhere. You can’t even stand the smell. This is criminal,” proclaimed Washington.

Luis Torres, from Fight Imperialism-Stand Together (FIST), a youth group that helped sponsor the activity, pointed out, “We are also here today to oppose the racist anti-immigrant bill.” Formerly from Laredo, Texas, he gave a painful and moving description of his friend, an undocumented worker, who died trying to cross the border.

Philippine activist Rev. Renaldo Lopez, an organizer of maritime workers and from the Christian Peace Maker Team that participated in the picket line, pointed out how “the struggle against the occupation of Iraq is linked to the struggle for justice in New Orleans.” This group has organized a week-long series of activities aimed at homeland security and against the occupation of Iraq.

David Hoskins, from the International Action Center, explained how many struggles are linked in the fight against imperialism. Hoskins, once a West Virginia resident, described the recent deaths of the 12 coal miners there as “murder.” “It shows why poor white people have to support the people of the Gulf.” The IAC provided sound for the rally.

Denise Lowery, a Baltimore All-Peoples Congress activist, stated, “This is about racism and about targeting the poor.” She brought her teenage son to the protest. Lowery has also been fighting to get military recruiters out of the schools.

Anise Jenkins, representing the Stand Up for Democracy in D.C. Coalition, a group that is fighting for statehood, urged daily organizing and protesting in honor of King.

Dustin Langley, from New York TONC, told the crowd how he wanted to stand with activists in this region against FEMA. He is also a national leader of SNAFU, a GI rights group. Langley has organized protests at military recruitment offices to “shut down the war.”

The excitement at the demonstration grew when Rev. Lennox Yearwood took the mike. He had come to the protest from New Orleans, where he participated in a Jan. 12-14 people’s summit called by the Millions More Movement, People’s Hurricane Relief Fund, Black Voices for Peace and many others. Yearwood is a leading organizer of the national Hip Hop Caucus and Summit founded by producer Russell Simmons and has also organized picketlines in front of FEMA offices.

He described how the government and developers were trying to disenfranchise the people of the Gulf. “They have stripped the area of its infrastructure and dispersed the people in hotels. FEMA has set a date in March to evict people from hotels and we need to stop this.” Yearwood put FEMA on notice that the people would not tolerate evictions.

Mothers of dead GIs speak against war

Following this rally and march, Black Voices for Peace held a dynamic rally at Plymouth Congregational Church. Ap prox i mately 500 people, mostly African American, packed the church both to show their appreciation for BVP leader, Damu Smith, who has been battling cancer, and to show opposition to the war and support for the people of New Orleans.

Damu Smith remarked, “It’s not enough to be against Bush. The Dems with a capital D voted for the war.” Smith expounded on the hypocrisy of the Democratic Party.

Several mothers of GIs who died in Iraq moved the crowd to stand and applaud their courage when they spoke. Visibly angry, Georgia Elaine Johnson from South Carolina described how she was shunned by the press when she participated with Cindy Sheehan in the Wash ington D.C. protests. “They don’t want to show Black faces against the war. You would have just thought it was Cindy Sheehan but that wasn’t true. Many of us were here first.”

Johnson also described her meeting with Bush and how insulted she felt when she received a coin in her son’s memory from the White House, Bush muttering to her, “Now don’t go selling this on E-bay.”

Patricia Roberts from Georgia brought tears to the eyes of rally participants as she described how her son was not supposed to be in actual combat; that he was part of the support team and was a trained computer expert. “He couldn’t shoot anyone!”, she said. Nevertheless he was sent to the front lines. A disproportionate number of Black and Latin@ GIs have been wounded and killed in combat in both the Vietnam and Iraq wars.

The second part of the rally was devoted to the issue of Katrina and racism in the Gulf. Felicia Eaves, co-chair of Black Voices for Peace, emceed the panel that included Melanie Campbell, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation; Colette Pinchon Battle, Operation Gulf Coast; and Concei Civela, Café Mawonaj. The crowd cheered when Yearwood called for “revolution”.

The Rainbow warriors, a dynamic multi-national group of students from James McHenry Elementary School performed a rousing step performance with drums and poetry.