Found at: http://www.yclusa.org/article/articleprint/1457/-1/282/
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Dynamic Magazine
Back Issues
2003 - July
It was only a few days after the first march organized by Uptown Youth for Peace and Justice on December 14, when we started making plans for the January 18 anti-war demo in Washington, D.C.
It was only a few days after the first march organized by Uptown Youth for Peace and Justice on December 14, when we started making plans for the January 18 anti-war demo in Washington, D.C.
Our first march had been a success, bringing out 1,000 young people from the Black and Latino communities to march for peace and justice in the streets of Washington Heights and Harlem. We had high school students, college students and young workers. Marching through the streets, people showed us support and solidarity and were happy at the fact that we were marching in our own communities, the same communities that are targeted by the poverty draft and budget cuts. Seeing the reaction from the people, we knew that this was only the beginning of our work in the peace movement and that we owed it to our communities to come out strong and represent in every demo. We were going to stop the war before it started!
That’s when we began planning for the anti-war demo in D.C. on January 18. We began by calling all the people in our contact list. We knew we only had about three weeks to plan it, but it was something that had to be done if we wanted to stop the war. Through workshops in high schools in Harlem, Washington Heights and the Bronx, we let the kids know why it was important for them to have a presence in the demonstration and how the war was going to affect them and their community. This kind of outreach, along with tabling, made it possible for Uptown Youth for Peace and Justice to bring two buses filled with young people of color to the anti-war demo in D.C. on January 18.
We had people in the buses ranging from the age of 5 to the age of 50. There were high school students accompanied by their parents, mothers with their small children, college students and young workers. On the bus ride, we spoke for a few minutes to the youth on the bus, once again telling them the importance of their presence in the demo and how the war, poverty draft and budget cuts affect our communities. We were also entertained by some poetry by Khalil Almustafa and singing from the toddlers. Once we got to the demo, we got off right behind the stage, which made it a bit impossible for us to move to the front of the stage without losing people from our contingent because of the high number of people present at the demo. We decided to stay right where we were. While waiting for the march to start, the youth from our contingent began to get impatient and cold, so we decided to go around in circles shouting “Move Bush, get out the way get out the way Bush, get out the way,� in addition to other chants. The people in our contingent got excited and wanted to start marching.
Throughout the march we had two banners, one for the Uptown Young Communist League club and another for Uptown Youth for Peace and Justice that read “Hey Bush: We Ain’t Going Nowhere.� There were about 250,000 people there from around the country saying no to war and to the poverty draft. The need for peace was felt and established. While marching, we met up with other youth groups who decided to get behind our banners and march with us. The high school students took over and led the march to the end. It was a very cold and long march and everyone was exhausted by the time the march ended; nevertheless, everyone was excited to find out when the next demonstration would take place.
People were so enthusiastic after January 18 that the following march in New York City on February 15 turned out to be an even bigger success, bringing out 500,000 people protesting against the war at home and abroad. Once again, we were there in large numbers with our banners, chants and even more energy than the first two times!
Alcy Montas is co-chair of the Uptown YCL club in Manhattan NY.
