Tacoma, WA – Seventeen coalitions came together January 20, rallying hundreds of people at Fireman’s Park before taking to the streets to protest Trump’s inauguration on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

The coalition addressed a broad array of issues, including immigration, Palestinian liberation, Black liberation, worker’s rights, climate justice, and more. United under three core demands – an end to the attacks on the people, defeat Trump’s agenda, and resist U.S. imperialism – these allied forces marched in solidarity, demonstrating a powerful commitment of the peoples’ movements to resist in the coming years of Trump’s presidency. 

Organizer Miriam Barnett started her speech by stating, “We celebrate the greatness of MLK today and we stand together to vow to fight the evilness of Trump. We will never embrace the Trump agenda.” 

The roars of the crowd echoed the sentiment of resistance to this administration. Organizers also emphasized that their fight transcends any single administration. 

“We would be taking to the streets no matter the outcome of this election.” said Talison Crosby, a long-time organizer with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “The system gave us two rotten choices that resulted in a rotten outcome. Neither party represents the people.”

Terrance McCall, an organizer with the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party stated, “The attacks on the people will not come to an end by interventions made by the Democratic nor Republican Party, they will only be brought to an end by the power of the people.” McCall continued, The time is long overdue for us to unite as poor and working people, with the poor and oppressed of the world, to change every part of the production of the society from serving the interests of private wealth to serving the people. The people will be first.” 

Mylo Lang, a member of the International Association of Machinists Local 751, and a member of the Tacoma Democratic Socialists of America stated, “Trump has made his priorities more clear than most.” 

Lang continued, “When he promises to carry out a campaign of mass immigrant deportations, he threatens the most vulnerable workers among us, whose contributions to daily life so often go unrecognized. When he focuses so much of his rhetoric on cultural bogeymen, he shows how desperate he is to keep the working class divided and distracted.” 

Marilyn Kimmerling, a member of the Climate Alliance of the South Sound said, “We know the corporate ploy that is used to divide us - ‘Jobs versus environment’ - meaning you can’t have both, is a false choice. There are no jobs on a dead planet. And we know that everything is connected, so we stand with any progressive groups doing the work that needs to be done. Mutual aid, solidarity, community building, and working together may be the only way we can effectively fight the perils we now face.” 

When an enemy such as Trump is going to attack the people and escalate on all fronts, it is also necessary that people organize as such. This march met the moment by going from the sidewalks into the streets and occupying the busiest intersections in Tacoma.  

Participants chanted, “Up up with liberation, Down down with occupation” as the march concluded at the Federal Court House. This rally was one of many protests across the nation, marking the beginning of a resistance to this administration. 

Alisun Thompson, with Jewish Voice for Peace, spoke of the power of the march, stating, “This work really shows what we can do when we are united – we are stronger together.” Each speaker concluded with a call to action. “There’s a lot of organizations out here today. If you’re not in one, you need to be in one, we can’t do anything ourselves but together we can change the world,” McCall stated.’

#TacomaWA #MLK #MLKDay #Trump #Inauguration #FRSO #JewishVoiceforPeace #JVP #ClimateAlliance #ClimateAllianceoftheSouthSound #SouthSound #DSA #AAPRP

Denver, CO – On November 9, Students for a Democratic Society Denver joined a national walkout for Palestine to demand an end to U.S. aid to Israel. In addition to the walkout, organizers took to the streets and marched to the Denver Capitol building, where approximately 500 people were gathered for a rally called by the Colorado Palestine Coalition. The rally also included local high school students who had walked out in solidarity with Palestine. Students were met with applause from onlookers and joined in with chants and songs

Alex Bornstein, a member of the Denver chapter of the Jewish Voice for Peace, stated, “All elected officials continue to demonstrate their loyalty to Zionism, to imperialism, to colonialism, to capitalism, and apartheid. And we’re here today to shame them for that. We refuse to let our tax dollars be used to finance death and the suffering of the Palestinian people.”

Members of the coalition also took part in planning a sit-in at the capitol. In response to the event, the State Representatives decided to close the capitol early that day and protesters counted this as a successful shutdown of the offices that day. This is a victory for the pro-Palestine cause in Colorado, as it continues to expand as a movement.

On the march back, SDS added to their march and amassed over 150 participants to take the streets back to campus. Denver’s streets were filled with chants like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!”

Paul Nelson, a member of the Denver SDS and a member of the MSU student government, said, “Don’t get it twisted, this is a Palestinian liberation movement. Different political friends united under a common cause of national liberation.”

SDS will continue its campaign to demand that the university administration divest from companies that support and fund the genocide of Palestinians and calls for the end of the United States' involvement and funding of Israel.

#DenverCO #FreePalestine #ColoradoPalestineCoalition #SDSDenver #JewishVoiceForPeace

Austin, TX – Over 4000 people rallied in front of the Austin State Capitol in support of Palestine on Sunday, October 29. The rally was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC), a student organization from UT Austin, and included speakers from PSC and Jewish Voices for Peace.

The PSC has long been organizing to stop the Israeli occupation of Palestine and recently ramped up their actions in response to the war, along with the horrible atrocities, like the bombing of hospitals, committed by Israel. One speaker spoke of the importance of remembering that, though this war is three weeks old, it is the culmination of a 75 year occupation.

People chanted over pro-genocide hecklers and listened to speakers for almost an hour before marching from the Capitol to East Ceasar Chavez Street and back. Speeches raised demands that the U.S., and specifically Texas, stop sending aid to Israel. Texas alone has sent over $300 million in aid. A speaker from the PSC said they called the protest to make sure that the world keeps their eyes on Gaza and refuses to ignore the genocide Israel is committing.

One woman spoke to crowd, with tears in her eyes and voice cracking, that she had not prepared a speech or planned to speak, but was moved to say that she was born in Iraq and knows firsthand the horrors of American military aggression and she stands with Palestine.

The crowd chanted things like, “Hey Greg Abott, you will see, Palestine will be free,” “When people are occupied, resistance is justified,” and much more.

The rally had so many people involved and passionately chanting that the pro-Israel genocide deniers trying to interrupt the demonstration could barely be heard even by those closest to them. 

#AustinTX #PalestineSolidarityCommittee #JewishVoiceforPeace

Austin, TX – On Sunday, October 15, over 2000 Austinites rallied in solidarity with the people of Palestine in front of the Texas Capitol building.

The rally, called by Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC), also featured speakers from the Native American and Indigenous Collective (NAIC), Malaya Movement Texas, and Jewish Voice for Peace.

Starting at 3 p.m., hundreds of Palestinian Americans, local religious groups and community members gathered at the front gate of the capitol as members of the NAIC performed the Danza Ollinyollotl. As the crowd formed, spilling over onto Congress Avenue, PSC led the rally in chants of “Gaza, Gaza, don't you cry, Palestine will never die” and “When people are occupied, resistance is justified!”

A speaker from Malaya Movement Texas emphasized the spirit of solidarity permeating the rally, saying that the attack by Hamas comes after a decades-long campaign to ethnically cleanse Palestinians, as shown clearly by the bombings on Gaza in the past week.

After the rally, the crowd turned towards the Colorado River and marched a mile south to Cesar Chavez Street, looping back to the capitol's front. While walking beneath dozens of Palestinian flags, the marchers chanted “Hey, hey, ho, ho, the occupation has to go” and “One, two, three four – occupation no more! Five, six, seven, eight – Israel is a racist state.”

Returning to the Capitol, the rally joined together in one last series of chants before ending. After the rally, a hundred supporters prayed on the capitol lawn.

#AustinTX #FreePalestine #AlAqsaFlood #Malaya #PSC #JewishVoiceforPeace