Washington DC rally and march in opposition to Trump’s inauguration

Washington, DC – On a windy Monday morning, January 20, protesters rallied and marched in opposition to Trump’s inauguration and his reactionary billionaire agenda. Organized by the We Fight Back coalition, organizations united around demands to defend the people’s movements from expected attacks by the Trump administration.

Heating the chill of the air with the fire of their spirits, protesters rallied in Malcolm X Park as speakers from endorsing organizations and coalition partners delivered their message to the crowd.

Coalition members and endorsing organizations included Bayan USA, Anakbayan, Migrante USA, Malaya DC, Kabataan Alliance DMV, International League of People’s Struggle, International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the DC Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression (DCAARPR).

Sydney Loving, a leading member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization told the crowd, “There’s no one that Trump’s administration won’t try to pick a fight with. But we intend to bring the fight to him. Even if we don’t start the fights, we are going to finish them.”

The organizing chair for DCAARPR said, “Unity is central to our struggle, and we must be united against Trump to defeat him and his reactionary agenda.”

“In the Alliance, we do not call ourselves allies,” the organizing chair continued, “We stand in solidarity with each other. Because we recognize that the same forces genociding our Palestinian family, deporting and attacking our undocumented brothers and sisters, and abridging our reproductive rights are the same forces that target, kill and oppress us as Black people.”

After rallying in the park, protesters took to the streets with chants such as “MPD, KKK, IOF, they’re all the same,” “Free Palestine,” and “The people united will never be defeated!”

The march stopped at the Philippine Embassy, where speakers denounced the collusion between the American and Philippine governments to oppress and exploit Filipinos and how the Trump presidency will continue and further human rights abuses in the Philippines.

“Our people should not be exploited,” said Norynne Caleja, of Malaya DC. “Our people should not be killed and our people should not be shipped out of the Philippines just for U.S. interests.”

The march wound up at Dupont Circle with speeches demanding an end to funding war and militarization by cutting budgets from people’s services; unity to protect immigrants and workers from attacks from the Trump administration, and an end to forced migration.

“The education system produces low-wage workers for export to be treated as commodities for other nations,” said Paolo Estrella, of Kabataan Alliance DMV. “Because of this, we see millions of Filipinos who left the Philippines to work overseas as migrants in the United States – who will be impacted by the Trump administration and their [plans for] mass deportations.”

Though the weather was below freezing, the people brought their passion and righteous anger at the billionaire bigots heading into the White House. The mobilization concluded with a call to action for attendees to get involved with and join organizations that will mount an organized fightback against the Trump administration and his reactionary agenda.

“They have the money, the media, and the power,” the organizing chair from DCAARPR said, “but we have the one thing they don’t: us. Our strength is our numbers, and when we are united, there is nothing the people can’t do. It’s our job to make them tremble when we roar, all power to the people!”

#WashingtonDC #PeoplesStruggles #Trump #J20 #ImmigrantRights #WomensMovement #AntiWarMovement #Palestine

Source: https://fightbacknews.org/washington-dc-rally-and-march-in-opposition-to-trumps-inauguration?pk_campaign=rss-feed