Coalition prepares to march—peacefully

It was late at night on July 24 when a tall, black-haired young woman jumped onto the stage at the Triple Rock Social Club and, pulling the microphone close, asked the crowd “Where are you all going to be on September 1st?

A lingering crowd of young people stood under her, not sure what was happening. Kim DeFranco sat at small round table to the side of the stage, smiling. She knew what was going on.

“In St. Paul!” she called back.

Marching orders: Group rallies at City Hall as Minneapolis council weighs new limits on protesters’ rights by Molly Priesmeyer, Minnesota Independent Protesters beware: As the Republican convention approaches, Minneapolis is revamping its policies regarding police conduct during political demonstrations, and opponents of the new guidelines say they limit civil and First Amendment rights.

Defranco is an organizer for the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, one of many groups organizing protest demonstrations during the four days of the Republican National Convention this September. The event at the Triple Rock that night was a fundraiser for the Coalition’s protest on September 1, the first day of the convention.

The Coalition’s proposed route has been rejected by the city of St. Paul—much to the frustration of Coalition organizers. The city permit granted for the march will allow minimal proximity to the Xcel Center, and requires that marchers leave the area by 2 p.m., before the convention begins.

The Coalition’s desired route (in green) and the route assigned to them by the city of St. Paul (in blue)

Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War Ph. #: 612.379.3584 Email: info@marchonrnc.org Website: http://www.marchonrnc.org Members Anti-War Committee AFSCME Local 3800 SDS – Univ. of Minnesota Twin Cities Peace Campaign – Focus on Iraq (MN) Welfare Rights Committee (MN) Women Against Military Madness (MN) Action LA Coalition Al Awda Right to Return Coalition – Chicago Chapter Al Awda Right to Return Coalition – Omaha Chapter Alliance for Global Justice AlliantAction (MN) American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council ANSWER Coalition Arlington (MA) United for Justice with Peace and the Lexington (MA) Peace and Justice Committee Bolivarian Circle – Cincinnati Call ‘Em Out Coalition (Detroit) Campus Antiwar Network Centro CSO (Los Angeles) Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism Chicago Progressive Alliance Coalition for Palestinian Rights (MN) CODEPINK Colombia Action Network Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) Communist Party-USA (MN) Communities United Against Police Brutality (MN) Fight Imperialism Stand Together (FIST) FIST (Raleigh, NC) Freedom Road Socialist Organization Green Party, 5th Congressional District Gus Hall Action Club (MN) International Action Center International Solidarity Movement, Chicago Chapter Iraq Peace Action Coalition (MN) Latin America Solidarity Coalition Latinos Against War (Los Angeles) Low Income People Organized for Power (LIPOP) – Duluth, MN Madison Infoshop Madison Raging Grannies March 25 Coalition – Los Angeles May 1 Movement for Worker and Immigrant Rights Mexico-US Solidarity Network Military Families Speak Out – Minnesota MN Cuba Cmte MN Immigrant Rights Action Coalition MN Women’s Earth Brigade National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera National Immigrant Solidarity Network National Network On Cuba Neighbors for Peace (Evanston, IL) Network in Solidarity with the People of the Philippines (NISPOP) Neverwood Collective New Jersey Solidarity – Activists for the Liberation of Palestine Nicaragua Solidarity Committee – Chicago Northland Anti-War Coalition Palestine Solidarity Group – Chicago Pan-African Roots Peace Action Wisconsin Peace and War in the Heartland Peoples Republic of the North Star (ML) Radio Free Maine Rainbow Affinity Tribe Revolting Queers RNC Welcoming Committee School of the Americas Watch Socialist Alternative Southsiders Together Organized for Power (Chicago) Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) – National SDS – Macalester College SDS – Ohio State SDS – Tuscarora High School SDS – Univ. of Alabama-Tuscaloosa SDS – UCLA SDS – UIC SDS – UNC-Asheville SDS – UNC-Chapel Hill SDS – UNC-Charlotte SDS – Univ. of North Dakota Students for Peace – University of Minnesota Duluth Students for Social Justice – Oakton Community College, Des Plains, IL SWEEPMN Teamster Local 743 Troops Out Now Coalition Twin Cities TransMarch Collective (MN) Unconventional Action Chicago United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) Veterans for Peace Chapter 80 Veterans for Peace, Chapter 115 (MN) Veterans for Peace, Chapter 27 (MN) Voices for Creative Nonviolence War Resisters League Welfare Warriors Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice Youth Against War and Racism 8th Day Center for Justice 1000 Grandmothers… Individuals: Cindy Sheehan, John Dear, S.J.

“They act like dissent is an afterthought, and they tried to squish us into the littlest amount of space and the farthest amount of space from the delegates,” Aby said. “They gave us a route that could accommodate maybe 10,000 people.”

The Coalition sued the city for changes in the route and timing to allow a more effective demonstration. In mid-July. U.S. District Court Judge Joan Erickson ruled in favor of city officials, deciding the revised route was appropriate.

According to court documents, Erickson agreed with city officials that the danger posed by the demonstrators outweighed their right to march where and when they please.

“The order, for the most part, addressed all of the issues,” St. Paul City Attorney John Choi said. “From the city’s perspective we’ve granted unprecedented access.”

The Coalition has reserved the south stairs of the State Capitol building from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and plan on having keynote speakers in the morning, before marching to the Xcel Center, Coalition spokesperson Meredith Aby said. If the 50,000 people expected by organizers show up, the event stands to be the biggest protest demonstration in Minnesota history.

Members of the Coalition adamantly maintain that both the rally and the march will be peaceful and well organized, and separate from any violent protests.

Their goal is that “anyone can participate without injury or conflict with the police or anyone else,” Coalition outreach worker Joe Callahan said. “At these conventions, being able to exercise our constitutional rights is a very big thing.”

The Coalition’s common principles appear in their four slogans:

“U.S. out of Iraq now,”

“Money for human needs, not for war,”

“Say no to the Republican Agenda,” and

“Demand peace, justice and equality.”

Jess Sundin, an organizer for the Coalition, began planning a counter-event in the fall of 2006, only days after the Republican Party announced St. Paul as the location of its 2008 convention.

Sundin and the burgeoning Coalition spent the next year-and–a-half applying and re-applying for permits, negotiating with city officials, and finally suing the city twice over delays and restrictions on permits to march.

Last winter, the coalition hosted a meeting on the University of Minnesota’s Minneapolis campus with other protest groups, during which they negotiated a set of working rules for the four days of demonstration. The four “St. Paul Principles,” agreed upon by all the groups, even those with more radical aims, are:

1. Respect the diversity of tactics of other protest groups

2. Be aware of the separate activities of other groups

3. Don’t criticize publicly the tactics of other groups

4. Don’t cooperate with police in pointing fingers at other groups

After the meeting, Coalition membership “exploded,” Sundin said.

Today the Coalition is endorsed by local groups including Women Against Military Madness, The Anti-War Committee, AFSCME Local 3800, and University of Minnesota Students for a Democratic Society, as well as national groups such as CODEPINK, Action LA Coalition, Columbia Action Network, and various national student groups.

Patrick B. Anderson is a freelance reporter and poverty-stricken college student. In addition to food, he seeks input at patrick.b.anderson@gmail.com.