Dallas, TX – A coalition led by the Palestinian Youth Movement met at Dallas’ own Grassy Knoll, October 5 to observe a year of resistance against escalated genocide and expanding occupation at the hands of the Israeli state.

Speakers included Dr. Hatem Bazian of American Muslims for Palestine, Nida Abu Baker of the Holy Land Foundation, Dr. Omar Suleiman of the Yaqeen Institute, Pastor Frederick Haynes of Friendship West Baptist Church, and presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein. Freedom Road Socialist Organization, DFW Anti-War Committee and the Party for Socialism and Liberation supported the protest.

Crowds arrived with energy in the early afternoon as Dr. Hatem Bazian addressed the crowd by proclaiming “A free Palestine is a state of mind,” followed by Nida abu Baker affirming, “We will chant for the voiceless and we will demand justice.”

Dr. Omar Suleiman condemned the Zionist state as a “ruthless regime that turns its wrath on women and children, using means many of which are supplied by the U.S. government.”

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein followed, repeating the call for an immediate embargo on the movement of U.S. weapons and Israeli economic aid, proclaiming “The U.S. is not just a partner, the U.S. is leading the charge.”

The Dallas Fort Worth area is no stranger to weapons manufacturers, from its suburbs to its schools, with companies like Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. Actions and shut-downs have repeatedly been held at facilities such as General Dynamics and Elbit Systems as well as at campus events hosted by Lockheed Martin in North Texas. Participants have faced repression at the hands of police and administrations.

The crowd took to the street with chants and signs. Pastor Frederick Haynes led with, “We don’t intend on relinquishing our claims” and “We will not bow down to the U.S. war machine.”

The crowd stopped briefly again at Dallas City Hall as Jo Hargis of DFW Anti War Committee spoke about the city’s complicity in genocide through a 2023 resolution. “Once again this city council has stood on the side of genocide and occupation.”

Just days after October 7, 2023, amid waves of misinformation targeted at the American public, the Dallas City Council reflexively and unanimously passed an extreme resolution giving its “unequivocal” support to the Israeli state. This came at the heavy objection of their constituents and 75% of the speakers present at the meeting, resulting in the city choosing to dig in further with an even more extreme draft of the resolution. The coming months would see Dallas Forth Worth community members march, teach and organize to shut down bomb factories, airports and schools – chanting “Whose streets? Our streets.”

Hargis continued, “The arc of history does not bend on its own. The people of Gaza broke out and took hold of the arc of history.”

The march concluded back at Dealey Plaza with cheers of “Wise up, rise up!” As the crowd dissipated back into the scenery of Saturday afternoon, organizers packed up to debrief and move on themselves, ready for another year of action.

#DallasTX #TX #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #PYM #DAWC #AMP #PSL #FRSO

Philadelphia, PA – Dozens of people confronted Philadelphia Department of Prisons Commissioner Michael Resnick on September 17 about the deaths of Amanda Cahill and Michael McKinnis, who died in jail the week before. The protest, at the Parkway Central Free Library, was led by community organizations and members of the family of Amanda Cahill to demand an end to mass incarceration and the criminalization of houselessness in Philadelphia.

Commissioner Resnick was just about to speak at a panel on mass incarceration when protesters disrupted the proceedings with chants and pointed to his share of guilt for the deaths of people in his custody.

Kayden Hujak, Amanda Cahill’s cousin, pointed out that the family holds the commissioner, the correction officers, and the nurse responsible for Cahill’s death but “number one, I think, we have to point to Mayor Cherelle Parker for this because of the police sweeps she is having done in Kensington. If it were not for the sweeps, I believe she would still be here.”

Mayor Parker’s police sweeps target unhoused people as part of her war on the poor. As for the conditions within the jail, Cahill’s fellow inmates banged on the doors and yelled for hours through the night in an attempt to get her medical attention. Despite the jail announcing that it was prepared to accept those arrested in the sweep, staff provided clearly inadequate care to protect the life of Amanda Cahill.

“I know how to take care of people that use substances and going through withdrawal and what they were doing in that prison was definitely going to get people hurt,” said Hujak. Michael McKinnis, a 61-year-old Black man, was the fifth person to die in a Philadelphia jail this year.

“I want to connect with other families this has happened to and I want to protest and continue this,” said Hujak. Amanda’s family is calling on those able to join them on Thursday, September 25 at city hall in supporting a Philadelphia city council resolution condemning the Supreme Court's decision to allow civil and criminal penalties for houselessness. Amanda is named in a section of the resolution and public comment in support is encouraged.

Organizations that participated in the protest included the Community Action Relief Project (CAARP), PSL Philly, Workers World Party, and Abolitionist Law Center.

#PhiladelphiaPA #InJusticeSystem #CommunityActionReliefProject #PSL #WWP #AbolitionistLawCenter

Baton Rouge, LA – On July 28, around 20 community members gathered in a local hair salon to hold a vigil for Sonya Massey, a Black woman who was wrongfully killed by state of Illinois Deputy Sean Grayson. The vigil took place five days after the release of body cam footage by Illinois police. The goal of the event was to link the killing of Sonya Massey to the killing of Alton Sterling by Baton Rouge police almost exactly eight years ago. Participants called for an end to the ongoing police brutality that plagues Louisiana.

The vigil provided space for attendees to discuss their feelings and reactions to the killing. One attendee felt that deputy Sean Grayson “baited” Massey in order to kill her. Laramie Griffin, an organizer with Evolve, pointed out that the officer who killed Massey had his body camera off and was only recorded because the other deputy had left his turned on. Most of the conversation focused on changes that would be necessary to end the killings.

“What needs to happen is that police are held accountable when they turn the body cameras off,” commented a representative of the Nation of Islam.

Laramie Griffin of Evolve says that his organization’s immediate demands are for Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The organization calls for the shutdown of the “brave cave” building, the location of a Baton Rouge Police Department black-site and torture warehouse. Evolve also demands that police agencies no longer be allowed to turn off body-worn cameras at any time during a shift, and for footage to be released to the public within 72 hours of any incident.

Griffin also noted that reforms passed after the killing of Alton Sterling, like Louisiana Act 272, may have saved Massey’s life if they were law in Illinois. This 2017 Louisiana law expanded the grounds for police decertification.

The event was hosted by Victory Over Louisiana Violence (Evolve) and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and was well represented by local groups, including Not Your Past Ministry, New Orleans for Community Oversight of the Police, the Baton Rouge NAACP, and a local Black gun rights organization all attended.

The vigil ended with a hopeful tone, playing a music video of the song change, dedicated to Sonya by Shreveport musician RayDaYungin.

#BatonRougeLA #SonyaMassey #Evolve #NOCOP #PSL #NotYourPastMinistry #NAACP

Dallas, TX – On Tuesday, May 28 hundreds of community members marched in downtown Dallas, mere hours after the metroplex had faced floods, hail and multiple tornadoes that caused widespread power outages. Despite these obstacles, the people of Dallas-Fort Worth came out to demand the U.S.-backed Israeli regime leave Rafah and the rest of Gaza.

This protest came in the wake of news of U.S.-supplied Israeli bombings of the Rafah and Al-Mawasi refugee encampments. These were supposedly safe areas, but families were burned alive in their tents.

Community members gathered for the rally at Civic Garden Park in downtown Dallas, which began with speeches from organizers with the Palestinian Youth Movement Dallas, the DFW Anti-War Committee, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

Jo Hargis, an organizer with DAWC, said, “It is no mistake that this flow of bombs continues uninterrupted from the United States. We know the Zionist entity could not continue this genocide without the constant flow of BLU-109 bombs, of MK-80 missiles, of F-35 fighter jets, and all the other tools of war that are produced right here.” They also highlighted the growing Weapon Manufacturers Campaign, which targets major warmongering corporations covering the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Ari Miller, who has organized against the General Dynamics factory in their neighborhood that is producing bombs for Israel, said, “I’ve found over these several long months that it’s easy to lose hope, and get burnt out. I’ve found it’s so important to turn to the collective strength of your community when we get in those darker states of mind. When we say we take care of each other, it’s not just physical it’s also emotional, and I think some people don’t realize how important that emotional aspect is when it comes to keeping involved and organized. Right now I’d tell people to find your local organizations and get involved in pro-Palestine organizing if they haven’t already. Uplift your community, remember every action big or small matters, and don’t ever stop talking about Palestine.”

During the march, the attendees took the opportunity to call out the complicity of the Dallas Police Department in suppressing pro-Palestinian voices, with chants such as “DPD, KKK, IDF they’re all the same.” The Dallas Police Department has arrested of dozens of protesters throughout this eight month ongoing genocide, for people simply for calling out Biden and General Dynamics for their participation in the death of tens of thousands of Palestinians. The community also displayed their continued optimism, chanting, “I believe that we will win, within our lifetime” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine is almost free.”

#DallasTX #TX #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #PYM #DAWC #PSL