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July, 2007 |
NO MANDATE FOR WAR |
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Black/Latino coalition holds anti-violence, anti-war march from the Bay State Banner - March 23, 2006
By Yawu Miller
Saturday’s anti-war protest that marched from Dudley Street to the Boston Common was one of hundreds that were held across the country last week to commemorate the March 18 U.S. invasion of Iraq. But the march — which kicked off with local poet Askia Toure giving a Yoruba-style homage to the ancestors — was not business as usual for the Boston-area peace movement. Saturday’s protest was the first anti-Iraq war demonstration in Boston organized and led by people of color. Combining calls for an end to the local gun violence plaguing the city with a call for an end to the war, speakers like anti-violence activist Tina Chery said the issues are linked. “We cannot accept killing in the name of peace,” said Chery, who heads the Louis D. Brown Peace Initiative. Chery noted that children in Boston, who are increasingly witnessing acts of gun violence, are facing the same post-traumatic stress issues as soldiers returning from Iraq. Similarly, Calvin Belfon, one of the Somerville Five group of youths who were beaten by Medford Police last year, said his experience did not exist in isolation.“It’s happening all over the world,” he said. “It’s becoming an epidemic.” In addition to the increased violence, demonstrators said the Iraq war has contributed to funding cuts for programs aimed at the poor.“Because of the war, a lot of resources have been taken away from our community,” said Gwen Johnson, a member of the Greater Boston Workers Alliance. In all, about 3,000 demonstrators participated in the march, organizers say. Demonstrators rallied at the corner of Blue Hill Avenue and Dudley Street before marching to the State House. A contingent of marchers staged a brief sit-in in front of a military recruitment center on Tremont Street before police were called to the scene. March organizer Tony Van Der Meer said the march was a success. “We put a lot of effort into gaining the support of the community,” he said. “The neighborhoods we went through saw it. People enthusiastically supported our efforts. We want to build mass consciousness in our community. I think it went well from that perspective. High school students and veteran Black and Latino peace activists led the march, while white activists — many from outlying towns and suburbs — brought up the rear. “It’s working-class people of color leading this,” Toure said. “I hate to say it, but it’s unusual.” The organizers distributed flyers and knocked on doors last weekend to promote the march. They also reached out to working-class white activists and union organizers to promote the march, as well as the mainstream peace movement groups. Toure said the march demonstrated a new consciousness in the city.“It’s a reflection of the growing consciousness of the people of color and working-class people in Boston. It gets down to ‘those who are oppressed must strike the first blow,’” he said, paraphrasing Frederick Douglass. |
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MORE ON NO MANDATE! |
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No Mandate! is an umbrella project of We work in coalition with a broad spectrum of other grassroots and community groups on an Some past events include: Van Votes Project |
For more information on the Youth Empowerment Program and other programs currently being hosted by Boston Mobilzation please contact us. |
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Click Here for Information on Counter Recruitment |
Click Here for a Glance at MOBE in the Press |
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For more information, please contact Boston Mobilization. Thank you for your support. |
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At A Glance |
This is the group e-mail listing for Boston Mobilization. It will notify our community on a wide array of local, national and international issues Join and get connected. |
The Youth Empowerment project trains student and community activists to facilitate workshops promoting peace, anti-racism, and critical thinking. |
The Grassroots Media Project is geared to youth actvists and is dedicated to producing and promoting alternative and creative forms of information dissemination. |
No Mandate is an umbrella project of |
Here you can find factual information about the realities of military service. This includes personal accounts from servicemen and their families. |
Find Your Voice! is the Youth Empowerment Project's workshop on gender sexism, identity and power. This workshop is for young women only. |
Youth Voices, new to this site, is a place for youth to dialogue about issues that affect them through whatever artistic medium strikes them. |
This space is reserved for any critical updates or events that are not a constant feature of the Boston Mobilization website. |
Copyright 2007 | Boston Mobilization | Site Design by the Pen and Sword Political Pirates (PS) |
BOSTON'S NEW PEACE MOVEMENT! |
The weekend of March 18-19 marked the beginning of the fourth year of the brutal war and occupation of Iraq. More than 100,000 Iraqi people and more than 2000 U.S. soldiers have died in a war based on lies and greed. The country of Iraq has been plunged into chaos and violence, the direct result of a brutal occupation. But it's not enough to just focus on the war and occupation of Iraq, we must draw attention to the devastating impact that this war has had on poor and working people, especially people of color, here at home. The $500 billion Pentagon budget, the $200 billion spent on the war and the tax cuts for the rich is money that has been stolen from our communities. This money is needed for union jobs, housing, youth centers & programs, education, daycare centers, AIDS and health care. This money is needed to rebuild the Gulf Coast and compensate the survivors of Katrina for the criminal and racist neglect of the government. March 18 will address the root causes of violence in our communities and point the finger at the real perpetrators of this violence - state, local and federal government and their policies of racism and lethal hostility towards poor and working people. March 18 will show concretely that we are fighting to stop two wars-- the war abroad and the war at home against poverty, racism and sexism. See these articles about military recruitment in our schools: Some Facts: |
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