arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Community Gathers in Oakland to Mourn and Organize Against Racist
Violence Committed by US Government
Oakland, CA (September 13) - Hundreds of people gathered at Snow Park in Oakland tonight to
mourn, provide support for each other, and speak out against violent United States policies at home
and abroad, which they say are the underlying reasons for unprecedented terrorist attacks in New
York City and Washington DC. Organizing against a growing climate of racism, nationalism and
anti-Arab bigotry was a focus of the rally.

Organized by youth and people of color in Oakland and San Francisco, solidarity speakers included
supporters of Palestine, people returning from the WCAR in South Africa, police brutality activists,
anarchists and socialists, anti-gentrification activists and other people representing dozens of
cultures and ethnicities. International solidarity was the theme as community and activist groups
stood together against the threat of more US violence. Michael Franti of Spearhead also spoke,
saying that "we need to be in a war against war."

In addition to an open mic, people at the rally talked with friends and strangers, cried, and began
coming to terms with the events of the last three days. Many people who attended have family
members still missing on the east coast. And many others have been the target of increased
racism and discrimination during times of crisis in the United States, like the Oklahoma City
bombing or Gulf War.

A recurring theme of the speakers was the brutal violence committed by or supported by the United
States government on a daily basis. "The bombs the government drops in Iraq are the bombs that
blew up in New York City," said Van Jones, director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, who
also warned against forthcoming violence by the Bush Administration. "The US cannot bomb its
way out of this one. Safety at home requires justice abroad."

In a diverse international community shocked by recent world events, deep feelings about the United
States government were expressed. A young Puerto Rican person said that "the belly of the beast
had something back to eat." A young Filipino human rights activist said that "when we found out
what kind of place got hit, we were kind of glad to see the Pentagon burning. But we also know that
thousands of Puerto Ricans, Haitians and other workers were in those buildings." An
African-American man who works on gentrification issues in West Oakland said that "we're always
seeing Americans drop bombs on people. We watch the Vietnamese get bombed, Iraqis get
bombed, Palestinians get bombed, now it has come home to roost." Japanese-Americans spoke
about internment camps and the nuclear holocaust brought on by US militarism.

Violence and repression within the United States was also talked about. A representative of
TransAction said, "We know what it's like to experience police violence on a daily basis." Mesha
Monge-Irizarry, the mother of Idriss Stelley (who was killed by SFPD in June), also spoke: "We pray
for many lives killed by this government, of black people, and of innocent black people in the third
world who will be slaughtered with this terrorism retaliation."

United States support, in the form of arms and funding, for apartheid in Israel was also discussed.
"You want to know why they hate us?" asked one woman. "Forty Israeli tanks just entered Jericho
tonight."

Those present were determined to make their voices heard in an increasingly hostile, war-mongering climate scripted by the government
and recited by corporate media. They also vowed to fight within their own communities against racism and hostility towards
Arab-Americans. Everyone sensed that this was an important time in history, and that the stuggle against injustice requires international
solidarity. "Everyone should be as wise as these inner-city youth here today," Van Jones concluded. "We all have more in common with
the working people of the earth than we do with George Bush or Colin Powell."

An African-American man summarized his feelings: "We don't want innocent people dying. But that's the price we pay for the government
in this country."