REMEMBER AND RESIST
A call to action for mass civil resistance at the White House on 9/26/2005
Mourn the Dead.
Resist Bush’s War.
Bring U.S. troops home, now!
Be part of an historic mass nonviolent action
to end the war in Iraq.----------------------------------
United for Peace and Justice, who is one of the major organizers of the march and rally on Saturday the 24th, is also organizing nonviolent resistance training on Sunday the 25th, in advance of a mass civil disobedience action on Monday the 26th.
Events on Monday will have quite an impact since the city will be open for business. It would be wonderful if they have a large and diverse crowd for this event - one of the groups leading the action is called "Clergy and Laity Concerned about Iraq". I don't anything about them in particular but it looks like we aren't talking about anarchists and hippies, or whatever other stereotypes people have (even here sometimes) about protesters.
I know there are other activities on Sunday and Monday, I have personally chosen this one because I can't take it anymore, and it is becoming more and more apparent that we are going to have to start breaking rules to get anything done.
Doing this in an organized way with a group like this is relatively safe. There are other actions on Monday that are directed at stopping traffic or disturbing business. The particular action that UFPJ is planning is very peaceful and symbolic.
Also, if you don't want to risk arrest, the majority of Monday's events are permitted - it would be great to have a bigger group even for the permitted events.
I am going to copy and paste some of the info here, the rest is available at the link at the bottom, including sign-up so you can get updates by email.
(the above part was written by me - meganmonkey)
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Sunday, September 25The action will be preceded on Sunday with a series of opportunities under the banner of “Building a Community of Resistance” to meet and learn from one another and build the sense of community, solidarity, vision, discipline and organization among those who plan to act together on Monday. These gatherings will take place in tents UFPJ will have set up or in other locations to be determined.
Building a Community of Resistance • 11 AM – 2:00 PM: Nonviolence training for unaffiliated persons and affinity groups who did not receive training locally.
• 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Clergy and Laity Concerned about Iraq will convene a panel of experienced practitioners of nonviolent social change who come from religious traditions; they will share experiences about the transformative power of nonviolent direct action.
(more at link below)
Monday, September 261. We will call on all participants - but certainly all that plan to risk arrest - to gather Monday morning by no later than 10 AM in a local church or other site to be determined. They will be inspired by a few words but mostly use this time to share last-minute information about the civil resistance, hear a report on how authorities have set up in the White House area, be briefed on the likely consequences of arrest and distribute informational materials as needed, and to form up for a brief march.
2. The ministers of CALC-I and perhaps Gold Star Families for Peace and others will lead a somber, permitted march from the morning gathering place to the Ellipse area that all are encouraged to join. Others who plan to participate may converge on the Ellipse by 11:45 AM
3. By 12:15 PM we will gather for a permitted gathering on the Ellipse south of the White House. There will be a very short 15-minute series of people who will speak only briefly to convey the basic messages of the day for media who are gathered there, but there will be no speeches. We are there to launch our action, not to do speeches.
Action materials such as names of American and Iraqi dead will be available as needed, but affinity groups are strongly encouraged to bring their own names, signs and banners. Everyone participating will be asked to tie a small placard around their neck with the names of an American soldier and Iraqi civilian killed in Iraq. The name placards and banners should be made so that they can be hung or tied to the White House fence.
4. By about 12:30 PM two bells will begin tolling in a cadenced rhythm and we will form two lines behind each bell and proceed for a slow walk around both sides of the White House where we will meet up in Lafayette Park for a continuation of the permitted gathering. If there are 2,000-3,000 in our number, the march around the White House may become an encircling presence that may pause briefly for a few moments of silence to honor the dead.
5. The gathering in Lafayette Park should form up by about 1:15 PM. It will be brief, just long enough to know that everyone has arrived and is ready to act. It will allow for communicating some last-minute directions for the nonviolent direct actions about to take place. No speeches, just preparation to act.
6. By about 1:45 PM the bells will toll again as names of the dead are called out, and while that proceeds the CALC-I delegation and perhaps Gold Star Families for Peace will approach the White House to insist that they be received to meet with the President. They will attempt to deliver the names of American and Iraqi dead and get an agreement from him to end the occupation. No doubt a short dialogue will ensue, observed by the media. If Pennsylvania Avenue is open as it normally is (since cars no longer are allowed on this section), we will move into the street behind the initial delegation to support them.
7. If refused as expected, the CALC-I delegation will lead the civil resistance action they have planned. If they are arrested as expected, their actions will be followed by one wave after another of affinity groups stepping forward to deliver names of the dead, placing names on the fence, and otherwise taking actions that may cause police to arrest them. Most of these waves of nonviolent resistance will occur on the Pennsylvania Avenue sidewalks, but other actions may occur at other entryways and fencing of the White House as the afternoon unfolds, according to what affinity groups have planned. Such details will be discussed over the weeks before September 26. Every affinity group planning to risk arrest will be coordinated with UFPJ organizers so that the results of their actions are effectively communicated and the public gets accurate information about what takes place on that day.
8. After all those who have chosen to do civil resistance have done so, the mass action will end and affinity group support people and UFPJ organizers will follow up to help people with what they need.
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3087(on edit: I would like to mention that I am not affiliated with UFPJ, aside from having attended several of the marches they planned, and having signed up for this action)
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