ACTIVATE, a Grand Rapids-based group working for social change through community building, education, and direct action, is announcing its “Days of Resistance to the War” campaign. Over the next month or so leading up to the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, ACTIVATE will hold a series of protests, film screenings, and other educational events as a means of building a renewed resistance to the occupation of Iraq.
The impetus for this campaign is “a call to action” for worldwide “Days of Resistance to the War” on March 19th and 20th. The call, of which ACTIVATE was one of the initial endorsers, asked the antiwar movement to think critically and honestly about our successes and failures over the past four years. In response to this call, ACTIVATE had much internal discussion about the actions of the antiwar movement in Grand Rapids and at the national level over the past four years, while also considering the successes and failures of our own actions since April of 2006. In light of our experiences and analysis of what has happened locally and nationally, we support the call for groups and individuals in the antiwar movement to take action in their own communities rather than going to DC yet again, while also embracing the call to shift towards direct action tactics at the institutions that perpetuate war and empire. We wholeheartedly believe that we must begin to be more strategic about how we oppose the war. We must focus our activities in a more direct and sustained way while making our resistance militant and uncompromising.
However, perhaps more important than direct action tactics, is the call to use the fourth anniversary as a tool to reinvigorate and reenergize the antiwar movement. We recognize the necessity of moving outside of the traditional circles of the antiwar movement, or as the call says, we recognize the need to “talk to our neighbors.” We must begin the difficult work of building a broader antiwar movement and we intend to use our slate of actions as a way of starting this process. It is imperative that we take this step, as we must build bonds of solidarity with those affected by the war both in Iraq and in the United States. After the anniversary, we will not fade away until next year, rather we will continue to build a strong resistance to the war as part of our ongoing work in building an anti-imperialist movement that challenges racism, patriarchy, and capitalism.
ACTIVATE has several actions and educational events planned in the month leading up to the fourth anniversary. They join with the events that we have already held as part of this campaign–a spirited protest at a military recruiting center on January 26 and two film screenings–in establishing a multi-faceted campaign of resistance. The events are as follows:
- Friday (2/16) 4pm – Counter-recruiting demonstration. -Call an end to the Iraq war by protesting the Armed Forces Center at Celebration Village (E. Beltline & Knapp).
- Wednesday (2/28) 9am – “Demanding Media Truth!” -Part 1-demonstration at GR Press offices on 155 Michigan St. (across from the federal building downtown).
- Thursday (3/1) 9am – “Demanding Media Truth!”– Part 2- demonstration at WOOD TV 8 on 120 College Ave.
- Wednesday (3/14) 10am – “Sen. Stabenow’s Report Card”- Demonstration at the Senator’s office. 3230 Broadmoor St.
- Saturday (3/17) 12:30pm – Anti-war march – Corner of East Beltline and Burton.
- Tuesday (3/20) Time & Location: TBA – Direct action in reaction to the 4th Anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq.
In the next few weeks, we will be contacting a variety of entities involved in antiwar and social change efforts to discuss these actions, as well as how we can assist them in their struggles, whether they be against racism or against the destruction of the earth. We welcome dialog with other movements and groups in Grand Rapids, and are more than happy to do film screenings (list of films) and discussions with groups in the area or to meet separately with folks about how we can best work together in to end the occupation of Iraq.