Anarchists show up at anti-racism rally at Worcester City Hall
By Mark Sullivan
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Posted Aug 13, 2017 at 10:56 PM
Updated at 9:19 AM
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Posted Aug 13, 2017 at 10:56 PM
Updated at 9:19 AM
WORCESTER - Masked anarchists hijacked a peaceful anti-racism rally at City Hall Plaza on Sunday, tying up traffic while marching down Main Street shouting epithets at “racist cops.”
At least three people were arrested.
The protest came at the end of the Rally Against Racism organized by the group Showing Up for Racial Justice in response to the white supremacist demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend.
More than 250 people, many of them parents with children, attended the 6 p.m. rally, holding signs and cheering a lineup of speakers who denounced racism and oppression.
At the close of the rally, members of the anti-fascist group Worcester Antifa, kerchiefs on their faces, one carrying a black flag, scaled an off-limits staircase in the front of City Hall to hang their banner, reading “Put Racism on the Run,” over a balcony.
At least three people were arrested.
The protest came at the end of the Rally Against Racism organized by the group Showing Up for Racial Justice in response to the white supremacist demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend.
More than 250 people, many of them parents with children, attended the 6 p.m. rally, holding signs and cheering a lineup of speakers who denounced racism and oppression.
At the close of the rally, members of the anti-fascist group Worcester Antifa, kerchiefs on their faces, one carrying a black flag, scaled an off-limits staircase in the front of City Hall to hang their banner, reading “Put Racism on the Run,” over a balcony.
When police officers told them they must leave the City Hall balcony, the crowd below shouted “Let them be!” and “No justice, no peace, no racist police!”
That was a lead-in to a march down Main Street, dozens of protesters blocking traffic while walking in the middle of the street until police ordered them back on the sidewalk. “Hey, hey, ho ho, these racist cops have got to go!” the protesters shouted as they marched as far as 674 Main St., the Odd Fellows Building, by the Compare Foods grocery.
There, a protester was arrested, prompting shouts of “Let him go!” The marchers turned around and headed back toward City Hall, escorted by a line of police cruisers. “Whose streets? Our streets!” they shouted. Police dogs inside a K9 unit wagon barked loudly.
That was a lead-in to a march down Main Street, dozens of protesters blocking traffic while walking in the middle of the street until police ordered them back on the sidewalk. “Hey, hey, ho ho, these racist cops have got to go!” the protesters shouted as they marched as far as 674 Main St., the Odd Fellows Building, by the Compare Foods grocery.
There, a protester was arrested, prompting shouts of “Let him go!” The marchers turned around and headed back toward City Hall, escorted by a line of police cruisers. “Whose streets? Our streets!” they shouted. Police dogs inside a K9 unit wagon barked loudly.
Police sirens and flashers filled the summer night air after the protesters regrouped at City Hall, then headed in the direction of the police station to bail out an arrested demonstrator. At least two more protesters were arrested on the march to the station. Police sirens drowned out the anti-police chants as the marchers passed Mechanics Hall.
The main rally was a family-friendly event. Parents and children with homemade signs staked out spots around the plaza. “Hate has no home here,” one sign read. “Teach love,” read another. One woman wore a “Resist Fascism” kerchief on her head.
Loree Burns, 47, of West Boylston, held a handmade sign that read “On the Side of (Love),” with a large heart. She was attending with her daughter, Catherine, 15, and friend Marissa Gardner, 14.
“I think what happened in Charlottesville was reprehensible,” Ms. Burns said. “The only thing that I could do right now is stand up in solidarity with the people of Charlottesville.”
The girls’ signs read, “Warrior of Love,” and “Love Makes the World Go Round.”
“When I saw on the news what happened in Charlottesville, I was really disgusted and upset at what people thought was OK and was right,” said Ms. Gardner. “I think it’s really important to organize and show the actions of a few do not really stand for all of us.”
Said the younger Ms. Burns: “We just need to keep the love going.”
Nearby, a couple in colorful tie-dyed shirts stood with their son and their collection of signs. Aimee Ledwell, 42, of Maynard, was penning “End Racism Now” on the back of a piece of poster board. Husband Joshua, 44, held their Black Lives Matter lawn sign. And son C.J., 8, had drawn a sign reading “Let Love and Kindness Grow,” with a picture of his cat.
“We of course are always standing on the side of love,” Mrs. Ledwell said. “After the violence this weekend, we could not just stay at home and not come and stand up for what’s right. So here we are.”
Mrs. Ledwell was asked what she hoped would be the takeaway from the anti-racism rally.
“The more people who stand up the better,” she said. “The more we have big crowds gathering and saying, ‘No, this is not normal,’ ‘This is not OK,’ the more people will come and join them, too.
“There is still a lot of fear. People have a hard time standing up. The more people do, you get momentum. And hopefully that momentum can make a difference every time.”
Not 20 feet away from the family group, on the fringe of the crowd, stood several Antifa protesters, some wearing kerchiefs and black masks on their faces, holding signs that read “Resist Racism: Solidarity with Charlottesville.”
“Don’t take my (expletive) picture,” one man with a kerchief around his face told an elderly woman who was taking a photo of the rally.
The masked people, who were standing over an American flag on the ground, refused to be interviewed by the Telegram & Gazette.
The main rally was a family-friendly event. Parents and children with homemade signs staked out spots around the plaza. “Hate has no home here,” one sign read. “Teach love,” read another. One woman wore a “Resist Fascism” kerchief on her head.
Loree Burns, 47, of West Boylston, held a handmade sign that read “On the Side of (Love),” with a large heart. She was attending with her daughter, Catherine, 15, and friend Marissa Gardner, 14.
“I think what happened in Charlottesville was reprehensible,” Ms. Burns said. “The only thing that I could do right now is stand up in solidarity with the people of Charlottesville.”
The girls’ signs read, “Warrior of Love,” and “Love Makes the World Go Round.”
“When I saw on the news what happened in Charlottesville, I was really disgusted and upset at what people thought was OK and was right,” said Ms. Gardner. “I think it’s really important to organize and show the actions of a few do not really stand for all of us.”
Said the younger Ms. Burns: “We just need to keep the love going.”
Nearby, a couple in colorful tie-dyed shirts stood with their son and their collection of signs. Aimee Ledwell, 42, of Maynard, was penning “End Racism Now” on the back of a piece of poster board. Husband Joshua, 44, held their Black Lives Matter lawn sign. And son C.J., 8, had drawn a sign reading “Let Love and Kindness Grow,” with a picture of his cat.
“We of course are always standing on the side of love,” Mrs. Ledwell said. “After the violence this weekend, we could not just stay at home and not come and stand up for what’s right. So here we are.”
Mrs. Ledwell was asked what she hoped would be the takeaway from the anti-racism rally.
“The more people who stand up the better,” she said. “The more we have big crowds gathering and saying, ‘No, this is not normal,’ ‘This is not OK,’ the more people will come and join them, too.
“There is still a lot of fear. People have a hard time standing up. The more people do, you get momentum. And hopefully that momentum can make a difference every time.”
Not 20 feet away from the family group, on the fringe of the crowd, stood several Antifa protesters, some wearing kerchiefs and black masks on their faces, holding signs that read “Resist Racism: Solidarity with Charlottesville.”
“Don’t take my (expletive) picture,” one man with a kerchief around his face told an elderly woman who was taking a photo of the rally.
The masked people, who were standing over an American flag on the ground, refused to be interviewed by the Telegram & Gazette.
“I’m not going to answer any of your questions,” said a man with a black mask covering his face who was standing over the American flag.
A woman with the group told the reporter: “This is harassment.” Asked what they planned to do with the flag, she said: “Please stop harassing them.”
“What are you doing with a notepad?” asked another woman with the group. “If they don’t want to talk to you, you can probably just (expletive) off.” Asked why the others were covering their faces, she said: “You really should leave.”
Asked if she felt non-violence was the way, she declined to speak.
The Antifa protesters, numbering perhaps a couple dozen, were a small percentage of the crowd for the main rally, which drew hundreds.
Matt Vahallas, 41, of Holden, held a sign picturing the Blues Brothers, with a quote from the movie: “I Hate (expletive) Nazis.” Mr. Vahallas said he was inspired to attend by the weekend’s swastika-waving demonstration in Charlottesville. “I thought World War II solved that problem,” he said.
Toward the end of the rally, the crowd was encouraged to join in chants. “No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA,” they shouted. Then: “What do we want? Justice! If we don’t get it? Shut it down!”
Soon thereafter, the Antifa people scaled the City Hall stairs, hung their banner from the balcony, and the mood turned.
The main Rally Against Racism was organized by the Worcester chapter of the activist organization Showing Up for Social Justice in response to the events in Charlottesville.
“Part of (our) cause is to call out racism and call white people into action when things like that happen,” said an organizer, Etel Haxhiaj, 37, of Worcester.
Ms. Haxhiaj, interviewed in advance of the rally, was asked about Antifa. She declined to comment on the group.
Seven members of the group Worcester Antifa - short for Worcester Anti-Fascist Action — were arrested in February during a protest in downtown Worcester in which they blocked traffic while chanting profane slogans against police, the Ku Klux Klan and fascism.
The Antifa movement nationally and internationally describes its approach as “a confrontational response to fascist groups, rooted in militant left-wing and anarchist politics,” according to the magazine The Nation.
No comments:
Post a Comment