ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) has endorsed the direct action strategy for protests at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) put forth by Unconventional Denver. We encourage other groups to do the same.
ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) has issued a “call to action” for Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapters across the country to endorse and participate in protests aimed at shutting down the Republican National Convention (RNC) in the Twin Cities from September 1 to September 4.
Read the call to action:
SDS Call to Action: Endorse and Participate in Shutting Down the RNC
Over the coming days and weeks, we’ll be circulating this call to action within SDS via listservs, organizational websites and blogs, and social networking websites. Additionally, the call will be posted to various radical news websites.
Here’s a short video of the March 15 protest produced by our friends at Mediamouse.org:
On March 15th, 2008, over 200 people came out to Heartside Park from Grand Rapids and beyond to protest the occupation of Iraq as it enters its sixth year. At around 12:00 PM, informational fliers, posters, and chant sheets were passed out, and the media spokesperson began to conduct interviews with the various media outlets present. While people were still trickling in, two members of ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) said a few words about the financial and human cost of the war, as well as the ineffectiveness of elections in relation to ending the war. As they finished the crowd began to march and chant going north on Ionia and then east on Cherry. As we approached Division St. the banners turned towards Fulton as people began to march in the street.
At around Weston St. the police began to force our fellow protestors back onto the sidewalk. While people were walking back onto the sidewalk a police officer pulled one individual out of the crowd, handcuffed him, and put him in a squad car. As people shouted “LET HIM GO!” the squad car took off with the protester in the back seat. The march then continued towards Veterans Park.
Awaiting us were 6 or so men flipping us off with signs saying “support the troops, win the war!” attempting to block us from walking by the memorial. As the march flooded through the park, a sign saying “3,900 + troops dead” was placed in the ground. The march continued through the GRCC campus west down Lyon St. and north on Ottawa. The march turned west onto Michigan, placing a banner reading “MEDIA LIES = IRAQ WAR” on the Grand Rapids Press building, and then continued onto Monroe.
As we turned up Monroe Center, the march took to the streets again shouting “NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE, US OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST!” As the march turned right on Ottawa another protester was grabbed from the crowd and arrested while stepping back onto the side walk. The purpose was clear; the police were using random arrests as a tactic of suppression and intimidation. As the march finished at Heartside Park announcements were quickly made in order to gather money for those arrested. More than enough was raised and over 16 people went to the jail to bail them out.
The march was a success in terms of relaying the message that the US needs to pull out all troops, private mercenaries and U.S. bases out of Iraq immediately! It was also a reminder that if we are to successfully end this war we must be more direct in holding politicians accountable and closing or impeding institutions that perpetuate US imperialism.
Media Coverage:
Protest Calls for End to the US Occupation of Iraq
Local News Coverage of Antiwar March in Grand Rapids
Video: Iraq War Protest – March 15
2 Arrested in Downtown Grand Rapids War Protest
U.N: Iraq Has a Window of Opportunity, While Group Demands Withdrawal
On Saturday, hundreds of people marched through downtown Grand Rapids to call for an immediate end to the US occupation of Iraq. Unfortunately, the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) decided that rather than accommodate this expression of dissent, they would make arrests in order to deter the crowd from marching in the street. There were two arrests during the march.
ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) is committed to supporting those individuals that were arrested as well as continuing to organize for an end to the occupation of Iraq. As part of this commitment, we raised nearly $300 at the end of the march to get the arrestees out of jail. By no later than 4:00pm on Saturday, both protestors had been released from jail.
In order to continue to support those who were arrested, we are asking for video or pictures of the arrests. If you have any, please send them to us. Additionally, if you witnessed the arrests, it would be helpful if you could send us statements of what you saw. Please be as accurate and detailed as possible, including descriptions of the actions of police and those who were arrested, as well as where people were standing–for example on the sidewalk or on the street.
In Solidarity,
ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS)
As of March 20th, the US will have completed its fifth year of occupying Iraq. This means that over $12.1 billion have been taken from Michigan taxpayers to fund this war. Grand Rapids alone has spent $273.6 million thus far. Look around and ask yourself what institutions – public schools, homeless shelters, housing projects – and communities are struggling to survive? Where could this money be used that would benefit humanity rather than take it?
It is clear that after 1.1 million Iraqi civilians and nearly 4,000 US troops have been killed, this occupation is being selfishly conducted by and for multi-national corporations and politicians driven by an imperialist agenda, with no one else but their selves in mind. This issue is not debatable.
If you want to end this war, what is your plan of attack? Do not wait for ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) to plan the next march or demonstration — organize your own! While our organizing efforts are continuous, we are calling for individuals and groups to resist the occupation in their own creative ways as well. By using some, all, or none of these recipes, we hope you will at least gain inspiration to take matters into your own hands. Convey your message to Grand Rapids — to the world — that funding for destruction and death needs to stop immediately. Testing some of these recipes is one way (but by no means all of the ways) of bringing this war to a screeching halt. The time to take action is now.
Below is a link to our recipes. If you try one of our recipes or create your own, let us know. What worked well, and what didn’t. We would love to hear a report back from all of your courageous endeavors and be an ally to everyone who wishes to end this war.
http://www.activategr.org/organizing/howto/
With an Eye Towards a New World,
- ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS)
www.activategr.org
Please help us promote the march on the 15th by telling your friends, putting up some flyers, or doing whatever else you can to spread the word!
ANTIWAR MARCH: END THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ!
Saturday, March 15 – 12:00pm
Heartside Park
Downtown Grand Rapids
(just south of the corner of Ionia and Cherry)
Join ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) for a march demanding an immediate end to the United States’ occupation of Iraq. We’ll highlight connections to local institutions that sustain the occupation. Bring signs, banners, drums, noisemakers, etc.
For information on why ACTIVATE calls for an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq:
http://www.activategr.org/news/end-the-occupation/
HELP PROMOTE THE PROTEST:
Please pass this announcement along to your friends, your groups, or other contacts. We have flyers below that we encourage people to print and distribute, as well as a graphic suitable for posting on MySpace, Facebook, and other such sites:
The third issue of the SDS News Bulletin is out. It’s a good way to find out what is going on it Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the larger group of which ACTIVATE is a part.
Last Saturday, Senator Carl Levin descended on the city of Grand Rapids in order to share his grace and wisdom about the situation in Iraq, as well as explain how the United States should proceed in its ongoing illegal occupation of the country. Fortunately, some people saw through this charade and staged a protest against Levin. ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) delivered over 100 flyers to members of the audience that outlined Levin’s ongoing support for the war though his continual voting for funding. This information is in direct contrast with the image Levin tries to present to the public. Levin initially voted against the war in 2002, but since the start of the war he has voted for nearly every funding bill. Levin has also repeatedly compromised on bills that would require the removal of some troops from Iraq as soon as there was opposition. Even more insulting, Levin has repeatedly blamed the Iraqis themselves for the situation in Iraq, claiming that they need to quit “dawdling” on supporting US-backed political issues. Levin’s talk was much of the same.
In his talk, Levin again chose to blame the Iraqis for the situation in their country. Iraq has been devastated by years of sanctions and bombings during the Clinton administration, and the current war which has killed 1.1 million Iraqi lives. How can the Iraqis possibly be to blame for the situation in their country? Levin took on a paternalistic tone in his talk as he claimed that success can only be won in Iraq if we force the Iraqis to take control of their country. Levin also added arrogantly that “The US cannot be their security blanket.” Clearly, Levin fails to understand the link between destroying a country through years of bombings and sanctions and the political instability that comes as a result.
Levin’s talk was advertised as a public forum, but the question and answer period clearly showed that this was not the case. Audience members were required to submit questions in writing. These questions were then sorted and filtered. Then a question was selected for Levin to answer. As a result of this, many important questions went unanswered. Questions such as, how can Levin claim to be against the war, yet continue to vote for funding, or why should the U.S. even have a say in the future of Iraq?
Levin’s actions have made it clear that he is not an ally of the anti-war movement. A vote for more funding for war is a vote for war. Despite Levin’s claims, the solution for Iraq is the solution that the majority of Iraqis support. The U.S. needs to end the occupation immediately. As a movement, we need to get over the illusion that politicians are our allies. Politicians and elections never stop wars, only grassroots movements can.
As we hope many of you are aware, the United States’ illegal occupation of Iraq is approaching its 5th year. Politicians have been skirting around the issue by passing meaningless resolutions and blaming the Iraqis for the problems the United States has caused in Iraq. Clearly, we cannot rely on these people to end the war and as a result we must take action ourselves to end this war. Each year, the anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq has drawn large protests around the world however these have had little effect in altering the course of the war. This is due in part because people see the anniversary of the war as the only day of the year to take action against the war.
This year, ACTIVATE hopes to make the anniversary of the war a beginning in stronger anti-war organizing in Grand Rapids. Last year, we upped the stakes by marching to Representative Ehlers’ house, forcing him to begin to defend (however poorly he has done so) his position on the war. This year, after considerable thought and reflection, we feel that the antiwar movement needs to build its skills and increase the frequency of activity. We need to find new ways to challenge both the system responsible for the war, as well as challenging ourselves to find new ways of resisting.
In order to accomplish this, ACTIVATE will be putting out a series of guides on how to carry out certain actions, activities, tactics, and protests. Along with this, we will be putting on various workshops and hosting discussions in order for us to share skills and increase our skill-base and experience.
In doing this, we hope that people will come up with their own ideas on how to commemorate the anniversary of the war by carrying out many decentralized actions in different locations. We want to highlight the fact that there are an almost infinite number of ways in which we can act to stop the war, and that it is imperative that there be sustained activity around the war. Everything from direct action to vigils must be on the table–and at varying times–all tactics are important.
In addition to calling for decentralized actions, ACTIVATE is hosting a march on March 15 at 12:00pm at Heartside Park in downtown Grand Rapids. As we have in the past, we will use the march to make connections between related issues–militarism, racism, and capitalism–and to draw in people from outside the traditional sectors of the antiwar movement.
In Solidarity,
- ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) – www.activategr.org
PS – Expect to hear and see more from us very soon.
PPS – Additional Resources:
March 15 Plans and Promotional Materials:
http://www.activategr.org/news/5th-anniversary-antiwar-march/
Why ACTIVATE Calls for an Immediate End to the Occupation of Iraq:
http://www.activategr.org/news/end-the-occupation/
ACTIVATE’s Position on the 2008 Elections:
http://www.activategr.org/news/election-statement/
