Austin students rally against Trump’s agenda
Austin, TX – On Wednesday, January 22, around 20 students, faculty and community members gathered outside the Perry–Castañeda Library on the UT Austin campus as a part of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) National Day of Action to resist Trump’s right-wing agenda.
Starting with a couple rounds of chants, the rally quickly gathered a number of onlookers, with several passing students joining in to chant and hold signs.
Jules Lattimore, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization gave a speech, saying, “The way forward, to defeat Trump’s agenda, is to unite the struggles of everyone who is under attack, which is damn near everyone, to not only protect our communities, but win real victories. Now is the time to be bold, to stand up and fight. We must build a broad coalition, win more people over to the struggle against Trump, and build the power of the people by growing fighting organizations.”
SDS and other activist organizations in Austin are preparing for the storm of racist attacks as Governor Greg Abbott is emboldened by Trump’s election.
Trump has listed Austin as one of the first cities he wishes to send his gang of ICE thugs to harass, intimidate, arrest and deport immigrants. In addition, schools and churches are no longer officially exempt from ICE raids, meaning the situation in Austin – with large working-class Chicano and Mexican communities – will become very dangerous in the coming weeks.
Arshia Papari, a member of Austin SDS, gave a speech to the crowd, saying, “We stand at a crossroads. On one side is the path of complacency, of division, of allowing those in power to dictate our futures while exploiting our labor, our planet, and our dignity. On the other side is the path of solidarity – where we recognize that our fates are bound together, that your liberation is my liberation, and that justice for one is justice for all.”
He then closed his speech with a round chanting “Dare to struggle! Dare to win!” which echoed off the nearby buildings and was audible down the street.