KurtFF8
27th September 2011, 15:48
Source (http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/news/new-york-day-of-outrage.html)
Spontaneous march electrifies downtown, links with ‘Occupy Wall Street’
By Marcel Cartier (http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/pages/biography.html?headlinesauthor_select=marcel-cartier&author=Marcel+Cartier&PREVIOUS_URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pslweb.org%2Fliberat ionnews%2Fnews%2Fnew-york-day-of-outrage.html)
September 27, 2011
http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/assets/images/content/troy-davis-day-after-march.jpg Police fail to stop protesters outraged by the legal lynching of Troy Davis, Sept. 22, New York
Photo: Vanissa Chan
Less than 24 hours after the legal lynching of Troy Davis by the state of Georgia, hundreds of angry New Yorkers rallied at Union Square to demonstrate their outrage. What began as a relatively “normal” speak-out against the racist death penalty had by night’s end turned into an electric, spontaneous march throughout downtown Manhattan, in which onlookers became participants, the police were put on their heels, and the crowd lost its fear.
While there had been no plan for a march, the militant energy of the mostly young crowd led to chants of “March! March!” Not blocked by the customary police barricades, the front of the march walked off the sidewalk and into the streets. No one hesitated to follow. Suddenly, the protesters found themselves being chased by the NYPD, who were clearly unprepared for the people to take over 14th Street.
From that point forward, the march was as much a struggle against the NYPD’s attempts to restrict and cut off the protest, as it was about Troy Davis. Every time the NYPD tried to cut the march in half with their motorcycles and long lines of heavily-armed officers, the crowd responded powerfully with loud chants of “Whose Streets? Our Streets!” At one key moment a few blocks from Union Square, the crowd simply walked in between or around these motorcycles and continued on. Having passed through, they turned around to condemn the police restrictions: “We Are All Sean Bell—NYPD go to hell!”
Confronting the first police line; Source: All Things Harlem Source: Young Marxist While passing through Greenwich Village and around New York University, the march became like a magnet for those outraged by the execution of Troy Davis. Some NYU students literally climbed out of their street-side windows to join in the protest, as did pedestrians, shoppers, and people eating dinner; the crowd swelled to 500-600 people. With powerful unity, young people of all backgrounds chanted “The system is racist—they lynched Troy Davis!” and “Death Row? Hell No!”
It was soon clear, however, that the police intended to do whatever was necessary to halt the people’s takeover of lower Manhattan. Backup was quickly called, and within a few blocks, the crowd was trying to make spontaneous decisions about which street to march down in order to avoid a police blockade. On Franklin Street, the police barricaded both the street and the sidewalk. They showed their true colors when they began attacking the crowd, shoving people in order to provoke them, or by hitting them with their batons. Officers pressed guns loaded with rubber bullets into the chest of those who remained in the streets. For a few minutes, Davis supporters were forced to the sidewalks in a tense stand-off. Even after unleashing such repression, it was clear that the crowd was not willing to disperse as the police wanted.
The police tactics backfired, and only strengthened the people’s desire to continue on. Quickly coordinating with each other, the group began to backtrack, until they reached a street that was relatively free from the police presence. Again, the streets belonged to the young people of New York! The NYPD began to realize they could do little to crush the will of the crowd. Despite all their forces of repression—including the hundreds of handcuffs they proudly displayed—the march would not be stopped. Marching down Broadway to the south end of Manhattan, the group pushed towards a natural destination point: Wall Street. This is a natural target for any protest against oppression, because Wall Street is where the real power lies in the racist, capitalist system. It was also the site of the “Occupy Wall Street” demonstration, which had been camped out in Liberty Plaza for the previous five days.
As the march celebrated having made it to their final destination, the NYPD forces, now numbering in the several hundred, began to retaliate for having been outmaneuvered all night long. Because a wall separates the sidewalk from the park itself, many protesters still stood on the streets. The police responded by pushing the crowd backwards, dangerously trying to cram hundreds of people into a narrow stretch of sidewalk. Many screamed out in pain and confusion, while two trapped protesters were suddenly snatched up and arrested. They were reportedly charged with “resisting arrest”—a ridiculous accusation that shows they had no reason to be arrested to begin with!
A short time later, several others who continued to march down to Wall Street were taken into custody. Instead of the night ending there, the people again organized quickly, and at least 50 marched to the 1st Precinct to demand their release. On arrival, police in riot gear refused to allow the group anywhere near the entrance. In fact, protesters were told that they were now blocking pedestrian traffic—there was none—and that soon each and every person would be arrested. Instead, some sat down, paying no attention to these orders, and chanted, “Let our brothers go!” While the police did not release the innocent protesters, those arrested later confirmed that they heard our presence, and it lifted their spirits. The following day the arrestees were released, but they each have pending court dates.
The march exemplified the militant spirit of the youth, especially when they have been pushed just a little too far. These youth are often described as apolitical and apathetic, but the Troy Davis case clearly touched a raw nerve in high schools, colleges, and oppressed communities across the country. The march also clearly showed the brutal character of the NYPD and their repressive instincts against any semblance of a movement opposing the system.
The rally and march only lasted for a few hours on one night, but it was a glimpse of revolution, with oppressed and working-class youth losing their fear. Truly, our generation is in fact at the beginning stages of igniting the revolutionary movement that we need for the society that we all deserve.
Content may be reprinted with credit to LiberationNews.org
Spontaneous march electrifies downtown, links with ‘Occupy Wall Street’
By Marcel Cartier (http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/pages/biography.html?headlinesauthor_select=marcel-cartier&author=Marcel+Cartier&PREVIOUS_URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pslweb.org%2Fliberat ionnews%2Fnews%2Fnew-york-day-of-outrage.html)
September 27, 2011
http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/assets/images/content/troy-davis-day-after-march.jpg Police fail to stop protesters outraged by the legal lynching of Troy Davis, Sept. 22, New York
Photo: Vanissa Chan
Less than 24 hours after the legal lynching of Troy Davis by the state of Georgia, hundreds of angry New Yorkers rallied at Union Square to demonstrate their outrage. What began as a relatively “normal” speak-out against the racist death penalty had by night’s end turned into an electric, spontaneous march throughout downtown Manhattan, in which onlookers became participants, the police were put on their heels, and the crowd lost its fear.
While there had been no plan for a march, the militant energy of the mostly young crowd led to chants of “March! March!” Not blocked by the customary police barricades, the front of the march walked off the sidewalk and into the streets. No one hesitated to follow. Suddenly, the protesters found themselves being chased by the NYPD, who were clearly unprepared for the people to take over 14th Street.
From that point forward, the march was as much a struggle against the NYPD’s attempts to restrict and cut off the protest, as it was about Troy Davis. Every time the NYPD tried to cut the march in half with their motorcycles and long lines of heavily-armed officers, the crowd responded powerfully with loud chants of “Whose Streets? Our Streets!” At one key moment a few blocks from Union Square, the crowd simply walked in between or around these motorcycles and continued on. Having passed through, they turned around to condemn the police restrictions: “We Are All Sean Bell—NYPD go to hell!”
Confronting the first police line; Source: All Things Harlem Source: Young Marxist While passing through Greenwich Village and around New York University, the march became like a magnet for those outraged by the execution of Troy Davis. Some NYU students literally climbed out of their street-side windows to join in the protest, as did pedestrians, shoppers, and people eating dinner; the crowd swelled to 500-600 people. With powerful unity, young people of all backgrounds chanted “The system is racist—they lynched Troy Davis!” and “Death Row? Hell No!”
It was soon clear, however, that the police intended to do whatever was necessary to halt the people’s takeover of lower Manhattan. Backup was quickly called, and within a few blocks, the crowd was trying to make spontaneous decisions about which street to march down in order to avoid a police blockade. On Franklin Street, the police barricaded both the street and the sidewalk. They showed their true colors when they began attacking the crowd, shoving people in order to provoke them, or by hitting them with their batons. Officers pressed guns loaded with rubber bullets into the chest of those who remained in the streets. For a few minutes, Davis supporters were forced to the sidewalks in a tense stand-off. Even after unleashing such repression, it was clear that the crowd was not willing to disperse as the police wanted.
The police tactics backfired, and only strengthened the people’s desire to continue on. Quickly coordinating with each other, the group began to backtrack, until they reached a street that was relatively free from the police presence. Again, the streets belonged to the young people of New York! The NYPD began to realize they could do little to crush the will of the crowd. Despite all their forces of repression—including the hundreds of handcuffs they proudly displayed—the march would not be stopped. Marching down Broadway to the south end of Manhattan, the group pushed towards a natural destination point: Wall Street. This is a natural target for any protest against oppression, because Wall Street is where the real power lies in the racist, capitalist system. It was also the site of the “Occupy Wall Street” demonstration, which had been camped out in Liberty Plaza for the previous five days.
As the march celebrated having made it to their final destination, the NYPD forces, now numbering in the several hundred, began to retaliate for having been outmaneuvered all night long. Because a wall separates the sidewalk from the park itself, many protesters still stood on the streets. The police responded by pushing the crowd backwards, dangerously trying to cram hundreds of people into a narrow stretch of sidewalk. Many screamed out in pain and confusion, while two trapped protesters were suddenly snatched up and arrested. They were reportedly charged with “resisting arrest”—a ridiculous accusation that shows they had no reason to be arrested to begin with!
A short time later, several others who continued to march down to Wall Street were taken into custody. Instead of the night ending there, the people again organized quickly, and at least 50 marched to the 1st Precinct to demand their release. On arrival, police in riot gear refused to allow the group anywhere near the entrance. In fact, protesters were told that they were now blocking pedestrian traffic—there was none—and that soon each and every person would be arrested. Instead, some sat down, paying no attention to these orders, and chanted, “Let our brothers go!” While the police did not release the innocent protesters, those arrested later confirmed that they heard our presence, and it lifted their spirits. The following day the arrestees were released, but they each have pending court dates.
The march exemplified the militant spirit of the youth, especially when they have been pushed just a little too far. These youth are often described as apolitical and apathetic, but the Troy Davis case clearly touched a raw nerve in high schools, colleges, and oppressed communities across the country. The march also clearly showed the brutal character of the NYPD and their repressive instincts against any semblance of a movement opposing the system.
The rally and march only lasted for a few hours on one night, but it was a glimpse of revolution, with oppressed and working-class youth losing their fear. Truly, our generation is in fact at the beginning stages of igniting the revolutionary movement that we need for the society that we all deserve.
Content may be reprinted with credit to LiberationNews.org