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Jan.
20: Northland Still Says No to War!
by Adam Ritscher
While George Bush was celebrating with champagne and
colored streamers, thousands of concerned Americans across the country took
to the streets to show their continued opposition to Washington’s war and
occupation in Iraq. Over 10,000
marched in Washington D.C. itself, while 5,000 marched in San Francisco,
2000 in Portland, 1500 in New Orleans, 1000 in Seattle, 250 in Santa Cruz
and 150 in Lincoln, Nebraska – to name just a few places.
Here in the Northland hundreds braved the cold weather
in Duluth, Grand Rapids and Hayward to partake in Bring the Troops Home
Now/Counter-Inaugural events.
In Duluth an energetic crowd of between 150 and 200 people
turned out for a rally called by the Northland Anti-War Coalition. Despite the fact that most area campuses
were still closed there was an impressive amount of young people present,
along with labor, political and community activists.
The rally was held on the MN Power Plaza right on Duluth’s
busiest downtown intersection. As
the crowd huddled close for warmth, and to the accompaniment of honking
motorists, several speakers spoke about why they thought the troops should
be brought home from Iraq and how they felt Bush’s inauguration should be
commemorated. Among the speakers were Sonia Bonia from Community Action
Duluth, Mary Theurer from AFSCME, Gloria Toivala from the UWS faculty
& staff union and Christine MacNeal from Socialist Action. Sharla Gardner and Bob Kosuth from
the Northland Anti-War Coalition Coordinating Committee co-MCed the event,
and offered remarks of their own (such as Kosuth’s memorable “It may be a
cold day today, but it’ll be a cold day in hell when we stop protesting
this war!”)
The
Duluth protest garnered a considerable amount of media press. The daily newspaper, and the local TV
stations all gave considerable coverage the event, more so than they have for
other recent anti-war protests.
In addition to the Duluth protest, a
small gathering was held by United for Justice and Awareness in Grand
Rapids, MN and a silent funeral procession was organized in Hayward, WI by
Peace North.
The
next scheduled anti-war protest will be on March 20 at 1pm in Superior, WI. We'll be assembling at Hammond Park. This
event is being organized by the Northland Anti-War Coalition. To get involved in the local anti-war
movement you can contact NAWC at (715) 394-6660 or come to a planning
meeting. NAWC meetings are on the
last Sunday of every month at 7pm at the Amazing
Grace coffee house in Duluth. We
sure
could use your help to build on this momentum!
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