A weekly guide to action.
The times may be dark, but they’re not hopeless. We have the power to join together and fight back. Now more than ever, we need to shore up our bonds of community, activate our networks, and make our voices heard. To this end, Blunderbuss is compiling a weekly roundup of events in our hometown of New York City that offer a chance to push back against the rising tide of hate and authoritarianism. Don’t expect this list to be exhaustive – this city is too full of energy and activism for us to stay on top of everything. But if you’ve got an event you’d like to see listed, feel free to hit up Travis at tmushett@gmail.com. All descriptions are authored by event organizers and occasionally trimmed for length. Times and locations are subject to change, so please click through the links to confirm.
Friday, February 3
Interfaith Action & Jummah Prayer at JFK
Time: Fri. 2/3, 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Location: JFK Airport, Terminal 4 Arrivals, Queens
[link]
Join The New York Immigration Coalition and Majlis Al Shura: The Islamic Leadership Council of Greater NY in showing solidarity with the Muslim and refugee community in response to President’s Trump’s Executive Order. Since last week, individuals from 7 Muslim countries have been detained at JFK, removed from airplanes coming to the United States, and have had their visas cancelled. The NYIC is committed to fighting for a complete reversal of the Executive Order and protecting members of the Muslim community.
Last Friday’s Jummah Prayer was a powerful demonstration of solidarity with New York’s Muslim and immigrant communities. This Friday, we will conduct one at JFK International Airport, where people have been detained, held, and questioned. Imam Al-Hajj Talib ‘Abdur-Rashid of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood will lead the prayer and deliver the Khutba.
No Hate, No Fear: Muslim, Refugee, and Immigrant Solidarity Rally
Time: Fri. 2/3, 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Location: Hammer Health Sciences Building, 701 W. 168th St., Manhattan
[link]
Please join us on the front steps of Hammer for a show of solidarity in support of our Muslim, immigrant, and refugee community members. Co-sponsored by the CUMC Muslim Student Organization, Dígame Más, HRI/Asylum Clinic, and White Coats 4 Black Lives.
Astoria Unity Rally in Support of Muslim Community
Time: Fri. 2/3, 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Location: 25th Ave. at Steinway St., Astoria
[link]
The Astoria community stands together with Muslim-Americans. Muslim-Americans and Muslim immigrants are a core part of Astoria’s history and community. Our nation was founded by immigrants and immigration continues to be an integral part of achieving the American Dream.
No Ban No Wall Union Square Rally
Time: Fri. 2/3, 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Location: Union Square, Manhattan
[link]
President Trump has put anti-Muslim bigotry into law – and we must fight back. We need more senators to speak out, and many haven’t. Every day they are silent, Trump’s Muslim ban gets harder to defeat.
That’s why we are calling on Amnesty activists like you to send a loud and clear message to your senators: Trump’s Muslim Ban Is shameful. Our leaders must reject it.
NYC Tech Rally to Protest the Ban
Time: Fri. 2/3, 5:30pm – 7:00pm
Location: Union Square, NW Corner, Manhattan
[link]
On Monday, leaders from the NYC Tech Community united to sign this letter (https://www.technyc.org/
Let’s keep the momentum going and put some faces to the names on the letter. Meet at the northwest corner of Union Square at 5:30 pm this Friday to let the President know that we in tech reject the ban!
Bronx/Uptown Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) Happy Hour
Time: Fri. 2/3, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: Inwood Local, 4957 Broadway, Manhattan
[link]
Join us for the first happy hour of our new Bronx/Uptown DSA Branch! Nothing wrong with trying to capture some joy, some solidarity and hope. Oh and booze.
Brooklyn Forum to Address the Needs of TGNC NY’ers
Time: Fri. 2/3, 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: YWCA Brooklyn, 30 3rd Ave., Brooklyn
[link]
Join AVP, Make the Road New York, Globe Bushwick, Audre Lorde Project, Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Lorena Borjas Community Fund, The Center, the Translatina Network, and Destination Tomorrow, along with New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Council Member Carlos Menchaca, and the City Council LGBT Caucus, for:
A strategy session with community leaders, elected officials, and other professionals on the needs and potential solutions to the violence affecting the Trans and Gender Non-Conforming community in New York City. The discussion will focus on education, immigration, employment, policing, housing and healthcare, and will be led by Trans and Gender Non-Conforming leaders.
MUTHA UP for Reproductive Rights: PP Fundraiser
Time: Fri. 2/3, 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: Sidewalk NYC, 94 Avenue A, Manhattan
[link]
Stories and poems and comics — projected on screen for live reading! — by MUTHA Magazine contributors, all about keeping it real with kids and keeping every person’s reproductive rights safe in this terrible %^&* time in our country. All proceeds go to Planned Parenthood NYC Action Fund!
Line-up on the mic includes: Samantha Barrow, Becky Fine-Firesheets, Emily Flake, Lauren Weinstein, Jade Sanchez-Ventura, Whit Taylor, Jessica Phillips Lorenz, Elizabeth Isadora Gold and other special guests. MC’d by MUTHA Magazine’s editor-in-chief, Meg Lemke, co-produced by MUTHA Magazine and The Brooklyn Players Reading Society
$15 (and up!) suggested donation for door charge, and here’s your opportunity to consider that recurring donation you’ve been meaning to make and start it off with a literary party. http://bit.ly/2j1APOG
No Child Left Behind Bars: Living Resistance Tour
Time: Fri. 2/3, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: Unitarian Church of All Souls, 1157 Lexington Ave., Manhattan
[link]
Combining grassroots community engagement with municipal boycotts, community actions, testimony, and education campaigns, the tour–No Child Behind Bars: Living Resistance From the US to Palestine–explores state violence, particularly the criminalization and detention of youth in Palestine and the US. The tour focuses on the interests and powers that reinforce these systems, with the goal of destabilizing them and breaking them down.
The tour will feature three speakers:
Ahed Tamimi is 16 years old, charismatic, and articulate. She will be speaking from her home in Nabi Saleh, Occupied West Bank.
Amanda Weatherspoon is a Unitarian Universalist minister and Black liberation activist in the Bay Area. Her ministry is centered on collective liberation with an intersectional approach.
Nadya Tannous is a writer and organizer in the Bay Area. She has researched the detention of Palestinian minors since 2013.
Which Way Forward?: Meet the Organizers Behind the Inaugural Protest!
Time: Fri. 2/3, 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Location: Justice Center en El Barrio
[link]
After millions inaugurate the resistance against Trump, which way forward for the movement in the U.S.?
Join a public forum hosted by the Party for Socialism and Liberation in a panel and discussion on the recent January 20th inaugural protest. Across the country, people are asking the question, where do we go from here? Join us as we look to what the future of the resistance movement will be against racism, sexism, xenophobia, LGBTQ bigotry, and all that Trump and his administration represents. This event will be a panel discussion with the organizers of the inaugural protest and we will engage in political and practical discussion about the future of the movement in the U.S.
The Maribor Uprisings: A Live Participatory Film
Time: Fri. 2/3, 7:30pm – 10:00pm
Location: UnionDocs, 322 Union Ave., Brooklyn
[link]
Twice, the people went into the streets. Twice, the police drove them away. What began as protests became uprisings. In the once-prosperous industrial city of Maribor, Slovenia, anger over political corruption became unruly revolt. This participatory documentary places audiences in the midst of the third and largest uprising as crowds surround and ransack City Hall under a hailstorm of tear gas canisters. Soon the mayor will resign—and the movement will spread to cities across the country.
The Maribor Uprisings takes up urgent questions raised by these events, and by uprisings elsewhere, from the Arab Spring, through Paris, to Black Lives Matter. What sparks such popular outrage? How are participants swept up in—and then changed by—confrontations with police? Could something like this happen in your city?
The directors Maple Razsa + Milton Guillen invite audiences to engage these questions through an unusual and participatory form. Drawing on the dramatic frontline footage of a video activist collective embedded within the uprisings, this film places viewers amidst the jostling crowds. It requires them to make their own choices about which cameras they will follow and therefore how they will participate. Like those who joined the actual uprisings, audiences in the theater must decide whether to listen to organizers and remain with those committed to nonviolent protest on Freedom Square or to follow rowdy crowds toward City Hall and almost certain conflict.
Work-in-Progress Presentation
Both Maple Razsa and Milton Guillen will be in attendance for discussion following the program.
No Ban/No Wall Dance Party for Queer Detainee Empowerment Project
Time: Fri. 2/3, 10:00pm – 2:00am
Location: Starr Bar, 214 Starr St., Brooklyn
[link]
We have to fight a wall and a ban– we need your help. Support our work and support LGBTQI migrants that often make the walk through the desert to the US border to seek asylum, or trans and queer folks from Muslim countries that come here seeking refuge and to be able to be their full selves without fear of violence
Every dollar given goes directly to LGBTQI/ HIV+ folks currently facing the immigrant carceral system or those currently incarcerated in immigration prisons across the nation.
Show- up, dance & support!
••• $5 before 11pm// $10 after •••
••• No one turned away because of lack of funds •••
Saturday, February 4
Defend PP, Defend Our Reproductive Rights: Organizing Meeting
Time: Sat. 2/4, Noon – 2:00pm
Location: Verso Books, 20 Jay St., Suite 1010, Brooklyn
[link]
On Saturday, February 11, organizations that go by the misnomer “pro-life” will be mobilizing across the country under a campaign to “Defund Planned Parenthood.” http://protestpp.com/
Here in NYC, it is being organized by a group called “Pro-life Future NYC” and they will be protesting at the Planned Parenthood – Margaret Sanger Center at 26 Bleecker Street.
We cannot let them go unopposed! We are organizing a meeting to plan a response and counter-rally that can beat them back and show that NYC stands for full reproductive rights and access for all women. Planned Parenthood in NYC has called for other forms of support rather than directly confronting the right-wing protestors. While we stand with Planned Parenthood and are grateful for the amazing work they do, we also recognize that this fight is bigger than just one organization – reproductive rights for all women are at stake right now. So we organized this meeting as a place for people to come together and discuss how we can best respond to this renewed assault on our rights.
ECRB Open Organizing Meeting
Time: Sat. 2/4, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Location: Freedom Hall, 113 W. 128th St., Manhattan
[link]
We are coalition of groups and individuals organizing for an Elected Civilian Review Board (ECRB) – a grassroots body that would be empowered to discipline the NYPD and work with an independent Special Prosecutor to bring justice to victims of police violence.
Join the NYC Campaign for an Elected Civilian Review Board! Come out to the next organizing meeting to learn more and contribute your ideas.
We work together democratically and consciously build the participation and leadership of those most affected by police violence.
LGBT Solidarity Rally
Time: Sat. 2/4, 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Location: Stonewall National Monument, Manhattan
[link]
Join us in front of the Stonewall Inn as we stand in solidarity with every immigrant, asylum seeker, refugee and every person impacted by Donald Trump’s illegal, immoral, unconstitutional and un-American executive orders. We will also speak out against Trump’s selection of the most anti-LGBT nominees and appointees in modern history.
Interfaith Vigil for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Time: Sat. 2/4, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Location: Our Savior’s Atonement Lutheran Church, 178 Bennet Ave., Manhattan
[link]
From The New Colossus:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore…”
Welcoming refugees and immigrants not only makes our country great, but is also a religious priority. Come and join people of all faiths from our neighborhood as we share music and hear stories from immigrants and refugees, as we celebrate the story of the wretched refuse of the world making America great.
Tell Batsheva Dance Company There’s No Art in Apartheid
Time: Sat. 2/4, 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Location: Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn
[link]
Join us outside BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House as we tell Batsheva their range of motion cannot hide their support for apartheid! With music from the Rude Mechanical Orchestra and a special performance by NYC’s own Freedom Dabka Group, we’ll celebrate art for liberation – not occupation.
Batsheva director Ohad Naharin says that he believes in social justice and supports Palestinian rights, but he also calls boycotts and protests pointless, and doesn’t acknowledge his dance company’s role in the government’s Brand Israel campaign, which uses the arts to whitewash the structural realities of apartheid and occupation.
Like Brian Eno, who recently denied Batsheva the use of his music for its Israeli embassy-sponsored performances in Italy, we cannot accept this whitewashing. If Naharin really stands against the occupation, we invite him to show us by dismantling Batsheva’s complicity with it.
No Enemies to the Left: An ACLU Benefit Show
Time: Sat. 2/4. 6:30pm – 11:30pm
Location: Brooklyn Bazaar, 150 Greenpoint Ave., Brooklyn
[link]
A Comedy and Music Filled Benefit for the ACLU
MUSIC:
Wet
Alex Cameron
Free The Mind
Emily Panic (DJ Set)
KittyCash (DJ Set)
Bec Adams (DJ Set)
Charlie Klarsfeld (DJ Set)
COMEDIANS:
Jo Firestone
Sharron Paul
COCOON CENTRAL DANCE TEAM
Sam Taggart
Eudora Peterson (Petey Peterson)
SPEAKERS:
Sarah Jaffe (Journalist, Activist, Author of Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt)
Ben Wizner (Director, ACLU Speech, Privacy & Technology Project)
$25 // 6:30pm Doors
Minors Under 18 Accompanied With A Parent or Legal Guardian
Sunday, February 5
MuJew Action Meet Up
Time: Sun. 2/5, 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Location: Kings Beer Hall, 84 St. Marks Pl., Brooklyn
[link]
President Cheeto and Prime Minister Bibi are meeting up for the first time on February 15th. The former has just issued a Muslim ban and a Christians-only policy for refugees. The latter has closed Israel’s borders and called for 5000 new settlements on Palestinian land.
We will not be silent in the face of the racist right. No matter what flag they fly. From JFK to East Jerusalem, we will #shutitdown.
Come out this Sunday to meet your fellow MuJew antifascists and help us plan a mass demonstration in NYC for F15! We will also be discussing other actions we can take to build a united front against fascism. Allies welcome.
This is What Democracy Sounds Like: A Community Sing Along
Time: Sun. 2/5, 3:00pm – 5:00pm
Location: Washington Square Park Arch, Manhattan
[link]
Let’s raise our voices together and make some music in the streets! Join us for #ThisIsWhatDemocracySounds
***In addition to singing for justice, we will also be #buskingforjustice Any and ALL money collected will be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union.***
Bring children, instruments, pennies, checkbooks and voices.
South Asian Solidarity Initiative General Meeting
Time: Sun. 2/5, 3:00pm – 5:00pm
Location: Asian American Writers’ Workshop, 112 W. 27th St., Manhattan
[link]
Friends and community members, please join us for our next SASI meeting. As we head into the new year this will be a perfect opportunity to get involved with SASI and the issues that we will be working on in the coming months. As always our events are free and open to the public.
Organizing to Defeat Trumpism: A Conversation with Arun Gupta
Time: Sun. 2/5, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: Starr Bar, 214 Starr St., Brooklyn
[link]
The extraordinary outpouring of resistance against Donald Trump is a sign of great hope, but it will take more than protest, lawsuits, or even a general strike to defeat him.
Join independent journalist Arun Gupta as he discusses his reporting from around the United States to explain why Trump came to power and how only genuine organizing and base-building can thwart his extremist agenda.
Based on conversations with more than 100 Trump supporters, Gupta will explain why many unionized workers flocked to Trump, how they can be won back to progressive politics, the role of trauma in liberal political reaction, how Trump used libidinal politics to craft a winning narrative, what the left gets right and where it has gone wrong.
This will be followed by a discussion with the audience as to how to build real counter-power in New York and how that relates to protests, mobilizing, and electoral politics.
Monday, February 6
ICE Free Queens
Time: Mon. 2/6, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Location: IMI Corona, 108-59 Roosevelt Ave., Queens
[link]
Queens is organizing & strategizing – come through!
We will continue working on developing these areas of work:
Emergency Planning
Community Defense
Sanctuary Spaces
Get Organized Brooklyn: Full Group Meeting
Time: Mon. 2/6, 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Location: Congregation Beth Elohim, 274 Garfield Pl., Brooklyn
[link]
Please join us for the next full-group #GetOrganizedBK meetings at Congregation Beth Elohim (at 8th Avenue and Garfield Place, in Park Slope). We’ll try a little different format. We’ll start at 6:30, with a panel/program. Then at 7:30, we’ll break down into working groups to keep organizing and planning. Feel free to come for either part (or both, of course).
6:30: Panel on protecting immigrants/sanctuary city policies
7:30: Working group meetings
More information on the working groups can be found here: http://bradlander.nyc/
Tuesday, February 7
NYC Students Walkout!: No Ban, No Wall
Time: Tues. 2/7, Noon – 4:30pm
Location: Foley Sq., 111 Worth St., Manhattan
[link]
As NYC students we must rise up against bigotry, hatred, and prejudice. We are a part of this city. We are Muslim. We are immigrants. And we have a voice.
As students from different schools and instiutions we plan to walkout of school at 12:00 pm on Tuesday in protest of the tragic executive order that WILL affect us! We will not remain silent. We will not repeat the failures of our past.
SRLP Advisory Committee Valentine’s Card Writing
Time: Tues. 2/7, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: Sylvia Rivera Law Project, 147 W. 24th St., 5th Fl., Manhattan
[link]
Come to SRLP’s Movement Building Team meeting to write cards and letters to our Prisoner Advisory Committee members who are currently incarcerated. Join us in fighting the isolation of our communities!
Resist Trump Tuesdays: Beat Back the Banks!
Time: Tues. 2/7, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: 28 Liberty St., Manhattan
[link]
EDITED: Given the recent comments from Donald Trump on rolling back Dodd-Frank and his recent Finanical Executive Order written by former Goldman employee Gary Cohn we have decided to change our target and message for this Tuesday’s action. Please spread the word that the location has changed!
Last week President Donald Trump announced he was rolling back #DoddFrank and bringing on Jamie Dimon, CEO of J.P Morgan Chase as an advisor to that rollback. Trump’s exact quote was, “We expect to be cutting a lot out of Dodd-Frank because, frankly, I have so many people, friends of mine, who have nice businesses who can’t borrow money. They just can’t get any money because the banks just won’t let them borrow, because of the rules and regulations in Dodd-Frank,” As we all know Dodd-Frank was put in place because of what happened in the 2008 economic crisis.
Additionally this Tuesday Steve Mnunchin, former employee of Goldman Sachs will be up for a Senate floor vote for Secretary Treasurer. Trump campaigned on beating back the Banks in D.C. so let’s show him what that really looks like.
As a part of our next #ResistTrumpTuesdays, we’ret taking it to the banks and meeting infront of Chase Bank and marching to Goldman Sachs.
Rise & Resist Meeting
Time: Tues. 2/7, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., Manhattan
[link]
We’re in the beginning stages of developing a flat, all volunteer group united in anger, organized into working groups, and committed to direct action. We’re focusing on everything from policy and data analysis to organizing protests to ensure that we have the largest impact possible.
We need people with all skills and interests. Whether you are an artist or a software developer or just somebody who wants to get involved, everybody’s contribution is valuable.
An agenda will be sent out via email ahead of time. If you are not yet on our email list you can sign up using this form: tinyurl.com/
And if you haven’t joined our Facebook group, please click here:
https://www.facebook.com/
Drinking Liberally Downtown Brooklyn w/Indivisible Nation BK
Time: Tues. 2/7, 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Location: Fourth Avenue Pub, 76 4th Ave., Brooklyn
[link]
Drinking Liberally is back on February 7th at Fourth Ave Pub and we will be joined by Indivisible Nation BK. We will begin as always at 7pm, with happy hour until 8pm.
Indivisible Nation BK is a Brooklyn-based group of concerned citizens working together block and speak out against extremism in the Trump Administration and White House. They share information about Trump’s proposed appointees and offer actions you can take to protest the nomination of individuals who would undermine and dismantle the institutions that support all Americans.
They plan on bringing letters to congressmen and Senators Schumer and Gillibrand that we can sign and they will deliver to their offices. We really hope you can join us for this special DL.
Wednesday, February 8
State of Immigration, State of Emergency: Preparing for Changes Under Trump
Time: Wed. 2/8, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
Location: Flatbush YMCA, 1401 Flabush Ave., Brooklyn
[link]
Get your questions answered.
New York City Councilmember Jumaane D. Williams, New York State Senator Kevin S. Parker, New York State Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte, and District Leader Josue Pierre will host “State of Immigration: State of Emergency.” At this immigration forum, attendees will learn about immigration policy changes under President Trump and how to prepare for them.
The forum’s goal is to energize people to take action, organize, and learn how to survive during the next four years. These topics will be discussed:
Citizenship Family Based Petitions
Immigration Fraud and Family Reunification
DACA/DAPA Asylum Filing
Fee Changes
Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
Deportation
A panel discussion will take place, and representatives from city agencies and local organizations will answer questions about immigrant rights and the changes to our country’s immigration policies.
Party to Protect Your Parts: A PP Benefit
Time: Wed. 2/8, 6:30pm – Midnight
Location: Saint Vitus, 1120 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn
[link]
// TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW! $15 https://www.ticketfly.com/
Announcing this amazing talent to perform our benefit!
11:00 Netherlands – Band
10:00The Giraffes
9:00 Ice Balloons
8:15 Strange Names
7:15 Debbie Downer
// Performances by:
9:45 Bunny Buxom
8:00 Anja Keister
All Night! Stage Bunny Celia Foxglove
// With Special Guest Host:
TheVagilante
// Door 6:30pm
. . 1st band 7:15pm sharp
// ALL PROCEEDS GO DIRECTLY TO
PLANNED PARENTHOOD NYC VOTES (PPNYC VOTES)!
// $2 drinks from 6:30pm – 7:15pm
Social Justice Communicators Meet-Up
Time: Wed. 2/8, 6:30pm – 9:00pm
Location: MADRE, 121 W. 27th St., Manhattan
[link]
Join us for the February Social Justice Communicators Meet-Up!
The meet-up happens monthly, and we’ll be holding the next one on Wednesday, February 8 at 6:30pm. This time, we’ll meet at MADRE’s office, 121 West 27th Street #302, so that we can talk in a quieter space. It’ll be a BYOB event, and afterwards, we can round off the evening at a local bar.
We know folks are eager to to keep this conversation going throughout the month. If you’re interested, you can join our new Google Group here: http://
Queens Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) Happy Hour
Time: Wed. 2/8, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: Readypenny Inn, 3707 73rd St., Jackson Heights
[link]
The Revolution will include adult beverages! Join the Queens Branch of Democratic Socialists of America for an evening of comradeship, cocktails, and a juke box too.
Thursday, February 9
Organizing 101: Build a Strong Movement
Time: Thurs. 2/9, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: Patagonia, 72 Greene St., Manhattan
[link]
If we’re going to build a stronger movement for people & planet, we need to bring in more people. As the old slogan goes: “The power of the people is greater than the people in power.”
So how do we start having conversations with our friends, family members, coworkers, coreligionists, workout buddies, and team members? What kinds of conversations lead to greater engagement from the sympathetic uninvolved — and can even break down barriers with people hesitant to support our cause?
Join the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign and the Sane Energy Project for a workshop on the basic building block of organizing: the 1-on-1 conversation. This highly participatory workshop will help you reach new people and kick-start the movement we need. Although it will focus on climate change/renewable energy, the basic skills will apply to many different causes.
Rise & Resist Marshal Training
Time: Thurs. 2/9, 8:00pm – 10:00pm
Location: LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., Manhattan
[link]
Q. Hey! What’s marshaling?
A. Marshaling is a form of resistance.
Marshals help build community by supporting Rise & Resist actions.
As marshals, we know the scenario for an action because we’ve been involved in the action’s planning, and we work together to support protesters do what they need to do while keeping the action as safe as possible.
We don’t ask for permission to demonstrate, we don’t ask for the NYPD to “help” us demonstrate. We protect our First Amendment rights to free speech and freedom of assembly by using these rights.
We set up our own pickets, we decide whether or not we want to go into a “pen”, we ourselves stop traffic for our marches. We communicate with demonstrators, and we provide a buffer between our group and the NYPD or hecklers. We de-escalate conflicts between protestors, counter-protestors, and the NYPD.
If you’re an experienced demonstrator or new to protesting, we encourage you to come and get trained. Marshaling is a great skill to have and a most excellent way to participate in actions.
______________
Illustration by Yvonne Martinez.