News and Views from the People's Struggle
Seattle, WA – Seattle anti-war activists rallied November 15 at Mount Baker Light Rail station for a short program of speeches before marching to the nearby overpass, where they dropped a banner and chanted to denounce the U.S. sinking of Venezuelan boats. Pedestrians slowed to watch, with some taking photos and others raising fists in solidarity as the group made their demands for an end to U.S. military action in Venezuela.
Seattle, WA – On November 2, the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (SAARPR) held a press conference in response to an Seattle Police Department killing three days before. The press conference was held where the killing took place, by the intersection of 4th Avenue S and S Holgate Street.
Kent, WA – On October 24, organizers with Seattle Against War (SAW) assembled in front of Congressman Adam Smith’s (WA-09) office to launch their “Adam Smith: Stop Arming Israel!” campaign and deliver a petition with over 530 signatures to Smith himself.
Seattle, WA – On October 18, a crowd of 90,000 turned out for No Kings Day 2.0 at Seattle Center to protest the growing list of attacks by the Trump administration. They demanded immigrant rights, police accountability, and stops to U.S. war and intervention abroad, attacks on federal workers, social programs and services, as well as people’s basic rights to bodily autonomy and access to medical care.
Seattle, WA – On October 12, anti-war and immigrant rights organizers in Seattle gathered with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) to answer the Anti-War Action Network’s (AWAN) call for protests against the escalation in U.S. aggression against Venezuela. A small crowd assembled in front of the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building to show solidarity with the Venezuela and demand to keep that country free from U.S. intervention.
Seattle, WA – Hundreds marched for Indigenous People’s Day on October 13, this year marking the city of Seattle’s first recognition of the holiday. Starting at the city’s Henry M. Jackson Federal Building where immigration hearings are held, drummers of all ages led marchers through the streets of downtown Seattle, ending at Pike Place’s Indian Park.
Seattle, WA – On Wednesday, October 8, the Seattle Public School Board voted 5-2 to reject bringing cops into Garfield High School halls and classrooms. The school board was considering assigning a Seattle Police Department officer to Garfield High School for a one-year pilot program.
Seattle, WA – On October 7, over 500 protesters gathered Cascade Playground in South Lake Union to take part in a march for Gaza, calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel and urging Seattle-based companies such as Palantir and Amazon to cut ties with Israel.
By Izzy McCabe and Nolan Good
Seattle, WA – On October 2, Seattleites took to the streets in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla, protesting the humanitarian aid fleet’s illegal interception by Israel the previous day. Nearly 100 activists packed into over 40 cars to form a motor caravan and cruised through some of the busiest streets in downtown Seattle during rush hour, disrupting traffic and unloading afterwards at a rally. The action was timed to coincide with other national and global efforts, like that of the Italian Unione Sindicale di Base (UDB), which enacted a general strike across Italy.
Seattle, WA – On Wednesday, September 17, the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (SAARPR) hosted a rally with the demands of “No Cops in Classrooms! Community Control of the Police!” just before the meeting of the Seattle School Board at the Stanford Education Center. The board was set to deliberate on whether the pilot SEO – “Student Emphasis Officer,” comparable to “Student Resource Officer” — program would move forward at Garfield High School.
Seattle, WA – On August 30, over 200 people gathered for a protest at Gasworks Park in Seattle to say no to the Let Us Pray hate speech rally that was to be held there.
The hate group Let Us Pray is notorious for holding such events, where transphobia is a common theme. For this reason, they were banned from holding rallies and events in eight cities in Canada. They are also known to hire local white supremacists as private security to intimidate counter-protesters and rub elbows with the local cops. Their main focus has been spreading religious extremism by attacking trans and queer people. Their leader, Sean Feught, is an outspoken anti-trans, anti-queer bigot.
Concerned members of the queer community and others mobilized to confront this hate group. Passing Seattleites going about their day also joined the rally when they learned why folks were protesting. Camaraderie was in the air, despite the circumstances.
The purpose of the protest was to disrupt Let Us Pray’s so-called “concert.” Air horns, kazoos, whistles and megaphones were used to make a chorus of disturbance. From the hill behind the concert, the sounds of protesters could be heard over the attempted singing by Feught. No doubt their footage was ruined, and any hope of YouTube ad revenue along with it.
It was clear Let Us Pray expected significantly more turnout for their event. Instead, the numbers were evenly balanced between event-goers and protesters. Around 400 people in total showed up, and the eagerness of the “concert” organizers to pack up was proof that even they found the turnout to their event to be underwhelming.
At 7 p.m., two hours before their permit was set to expire, they called it quits, but not before asking for attendees to donate to their Venmo. Protesters accosted Feught all the way back to his car with well-earned messages from the queer and trans people of Seattle: that he was not welcome, his rhetoric was not allowed to exist without pushback, and that if he returned, so would we.
Seattle, WA – On August 17, more than 300 Seattleites came together in Westlake Plaza to march against Israel’s U.S.-backed siege of Gaza. The march was organized by Seattle Against War (SAW), Nidal, and bil-Yad.
Seattle, WA – On July 26, a crowd of over 100 gathered at Seattle Central College for a rally and community action fair organized by the south Seattle-based grassroots organization Seattle Against War (SAW).
They were united by the need to stand up against the attacks on the working class and oppressed peoples embodied in Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” – from stripping necessary social services to an unprecedented $170 billion budget increase to ICE and border patrol.
Seattle, WA – In the early morning hours of June 10, activists and community members gathered at the courtyard of the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in downtown Seattle in solidarity with the rebellion in LA and against deportations.
The federal building is the site of the area’s immigration court where ICE has been detaining and disappearing people before they can seek legal counsel or contact their loved ones.
Seattle, WA – On June 9, labor organizers and community members from across Seattle rallied in front of the offices of SEIU Local 775 before quickly marching to City Hall. The rally, called by SEIU, demanded the immediate release of David Huerta, the president of SEIU in California. Huerta had been arrested while observing ICE raids in Los Angeles.
Seattle, WA – On May 31, members of the Seattle district of Freedom Road Socialist Organization hosted “Fighting Repression: How We Fight Back – And Win!,” a panel discussion with local organizers which explored ways that the peoples’ movements can withstand the enemy’s attacks. Twenty members of the local community attended, filling up the public library branch’s meeting room.
Seattle, WA – On Saturday, May 24, Seattle’s LGBTQ community and their allies protested an anti-queer, Christian evangelist rally at the Capitol Hill neighborhood’s Cal Anderson Park. They protested the rally that was called by the group Mayday USA, which aims to classify transgender people as mentally ill and to legally define life as starting at conception.
Although the Seattle community outnumbered the reactionaries, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) wasted no time in acting as the reactionaries’ personal armed guard.
Seattle, WA – On May 1, over 2000 gathered at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle to celebrate International Workers Day, or May Day. Community organizations, labor unions and local community members marched through the streets demanding an end to Trump’s attacks on immigrant and workers’ rights and rallied for a fighting labor movement.
By Dre Say and Clio Jensen
Seattle, WA – Seattle union members and community activists joined a National Day of Protest on March 23 led by the National Association of Letter Carriers, saying “Hell No!” to dismantling the postal service. 300 people attended the rally in front of a Seattle post office, one of several rallies in the region in solidarity with 200,000 letter carriers and 640,000 postal workers who are fighting against President Trump’s attempt to restructure or privatize the U.S. Postal Service.
Seattle, WA – A dozen-plus anti-war activists rallied and picketed outside U.S. Congressional Representative Adam Smith’s office in Kent on the morning of March 26 to protest his continued support of Israel’s genocidal war in Palestine. The event was organized by Seattle Against War (SAW) as part of the week of action called by the national Anti-War Action Network to honor Land Day, a Palestinian day that marks the ongoing seizure of Arab-owned lands by Israel.