Washington DC rally demands U.S. hands off Venezuela
Washington, DC – On Tuesday, January 6, a group of over 200 people rallied outside of the Kennedy Center, in D.C. to demand an end to U.S. intervention in Venezuela. Protesters took the streets outside of the Watergate Hotel to march to the Center.
They chose the location to disrupt and bring attention to a meeting the Trump administration was holding at the venue. Protesters’ signs read, “No more blood for oil” and “No war with Venezuela.”
The rally began with chanting led by emcee Merawi Gerima of the DC Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression – one of almost 20 DC Organizations that assisted in planning the event. Call and response chants like “We want peace, we say how! U.S. out of VZ now!” and “Donald Trump, you fucking clown! You’re not welcome in this town!” were heard as protesters made their way towards the Kennedy Center. These were mingled with calls of “ICE out of DC now!”
Gerima then spoke to the crowd about the importance of the location, citing the meeting between the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans just inside the center, which elicited boos and calls of the “Shame!” from the crowd.
“We must act in solidarity with the people of Venezuela who are telling us to take to the streets,” said Olivia Dinucci from CodePink, “We are here in the belly of the beast where these war criminals are among us!”
“We understand that we share the same enemy,” said the speaker from Palestinian Youth Movement DMV, “and our joint liberation and the liberation of oppressed people all around the world will only be won through collective and unified struggle.”
During the protest, a Republican congressman emerged from the Kennedy Center and walked by the protesters, drawing the attention of the crowd. Spontaneous calls of “Congressman do your job! Do your job, do your job!” and “Shame!” in rhythmic patterns heckled the congressman as he hid from the people behind a wall of police officers before leaving. This prompted another round of booing and chants of “Fuck Donald Trump!” as well as comments from Gerima about how the system preys on poor working-class Black and brown people to take jobs in policing and the military.
“The ruling class does every single thing in its power to throw Black and brown people into poverty,” said Gerima, “but the answer isn’t joining the military. We say the answer is joining us – because we are building a movement that will one day have the power to create a society where we can all have our needs met!”
The protest continued with several more speakers, who touched on how the U.S. intervention in Venezuela is affecting more than just Venezuelans.
“Like Maduro and the rest of Venezuela and Puerto Rico, we hear the planes and their helicopters overhead,” said the speaker from DCAARPR.
“When we strengthen the people’s movement here, we strengthen the peoples’ movements all over the world,” said Kristen Bonner of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization DC, “because our struggles are dialectical, and they are linked!”
The organizations responsible for putting on this event announced plans for further action, including holding a teach-in this Sunday at Sankofa in DC.