Miami celebrates International Women’s Day
Miami, FL- Activists in South Florida celebrated International Women’s Day here, March 8, at the Wynwood Art Walk. The anti-war group People's Opposition to War, Imperialism, and Racism (POWIR) organized the event, which included a spoken-word performance of speeches by women freedom fighters, past and present.
About 15 activists from anti-war, immigrant rights, and pro-Palestine organizations spoke to hundreds of passersby who stopped to listen to the inspirational and powerful speeches. Sabrina Bracero of POWIR led the event, which included readings of speeches written by Sojourner Truth, Helen Keller, Leila Khaled and Isabell Allende. Didier Ortiz of Students for Justice in Palestine read the first speech by prominent anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan.
“I cannot call myself an ‘anti-war’ activist if I don’t recognize that the dots of poverty, neo-liberalism, and environmentalism must be connected,” Ortiz read. “We can’t separate one cause from the other.”
POWIR also gathered over 180 signatures for the petition to drop the charges against Rasmea Odeh. Odeh, a prominent Palestinian women’s rights activist and community leader, is being zeroed-in on by the U.S. government as part of an ongoing witch-hunt against Arab-Americans and anti-war activists. She has been charged with phony immigration charges and faces jail time and deportation for her activism and pro-Palestinian activities. The Committee to Stop FBI Repression is circulating a petition to drop the charges against Rasmea Odeh.
“We support Palestine, we support women and we support Rasmea,” said Pamela Maldonado of POWIR. “Let’s celebrate International Women’s Day by calling on the government to drop these ridiculous charges against Rasmea Odeh, a powerful and important female leader in the activist community.”
The Miami crowd proved to be extremely receptive to the message of solidarity and empowerment. Many expressed concern over the U.S. government’s continued repression of activists and immigrants from the Middle East.