A Beautiful Rising Continues, as Trump Speaks in Tulsa –

Revcoms Join Refuse Fascism in Saying Goddamn to Donald Trump and His Fascist Regime, Bringing Forth Revolution

| revcom.us

 

Defiant protests around the country continued on Saturday, June 20, many called by Refuse Fascism. The day before, Trump had threatened to viciously come down on anyone coming to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to protest the fascist rally he was holding there. But as an ugly, reactionary crowd attended Trump’s rally, there was righteous and defiant protest outside the arena, capturing the world’s attention and grabbing the split-screen. As Refuse Fascism declared, Trump’s rally was a crossroads for the people: whether people will accept a fascist America, relying on politics as usual, OR will people manifest in the streets, bringing our strength in numbers and righteous determination to say “The Trump/Pence Regime Must Go Now!”

This was joined in chorus with other cities across the country, as thousands took to the streets once again against the police murder of Black people and systemic racism, and against Trump and his white supremacist, fascist regime. Refuse Fascism was there with their bright orange signs and banners demanding “Trump/Pence Out Now!” And the Revolution Club and the National Revolution Tour had a strong presence in several cities.

The following are excerpts from field reports we received from Revcoms and correspondents who were part of the June 20 protests in Tulsa, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City.

 

Tulsa

The area around the BOK arena in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Donald Trump made his first campaign appearance in months, was a cesspool of white supremacy, misogyny, hatred of foreigners, belligerent American chauvinism, and deranged Christian fundamentalism. Dozens of vendors of crude and vulgar Trump promotional material set up stands, lunatic fascist conspiracy theories blared over loudspeakers, everything and everybody was draped in patriotic Trump regalia, and a number of threatening-looking fascists roamed through the crowd with their weapons, some on full display.

But by mid-afternoon of June 20, hours before Trump’s speech was to begin, a different scene had begun to emerge. Knots of people, mainly Black people, engaged in fierce arguments with Trump supporters. And when a crew set up a large Refuse Fascism banner in the middle of the street and began agitating over a bullhorn, a small crowd of people there to oppose Trump began to coalesce. Over the next few hours, in the midst of fierce contention with fascists, several marches of about 100 people went up and down Boulder Avenue. Many carried homemade signs, and Refuse Fascism stickers and posters were widely on display. A few people held the Revcom poster of the Tulsa massacre of 1921, and a “Revolution—Nothing Less!” banner was up in the mix, where it remained for the rest of the day.

Beginning in the early evening, small groups of people began arriving to protest Trump. They were almost immediately identifiable, even aside from the signs many carried—they were wearing masks to limit the spread of the virus, something the Trump supporters disdained. A beautiful sight began to come into focus on Boulder Avenue. About 500 people of different nationalities, mainly young, coalesced and soon took off in a series of spirited marches through and around downtown Tulsa. Some said they had seen news coverage of Refuse Fascism earlier. Most had heard on social media about gathering downtown to protest. All were motivated by a fierce hatred of white supremacy, and the plague of police murders across the country, including Tulsa.

People braved phalanxes of riot equipped police and heavily armed National Guard troops on the march. Snipers were stationed on rooftops. Tear gas, mace, and rubber bullets were used against the protesters, and the cops made several unprovoked arrests. Fascists, some armed, repeatedly attempted to bait protesters into brawls, especially with their viciously expressed white supremacy. Several times they almost succeeded, as nearby cops seemed itchy to jump at the excuse for an all-out assault on the marchers. Marchers gathered and, with fists in the air, chanted “peaceful protest,” and regrouped to continue, chanting “Black lives matter!” the names of George Floyd, Terence Crutcher, Breonna Taylor; and, maybe most popular, “Fuck Trump!”

Refuse Fascism leaflets were everywhere. Many people received Bob Avakian’s message “Nothing Less!” Throughout the night people were drawn to the Revolution—Nothing Less! banner, which included info on the revcom site and social media and the Revolution, Nothing Less! YouTube show, and said they really liked its message, and wanted to learn more. A Refuse Fascism spokesperson was interviewed on national media. Plans were made with people to hook into Refuse Fascism, and some into the movement for revolution.

Trump had scheduled Tulsa for his first rally after the coronavirus began coursing throughout the country because he and his campaign figured it as a city led by a Trump-supporting Republican mayor in the heart of an area of overwhelming electoral support for his fascist regime.

But through determined struggle a different picture developed. The contention on Tulsa’s streets became a brief, concentrated expression of something Bob Avakian said in his talk Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution: “To a significant degree now, the conflict between the sections of society upholding this fascism and those opposing it, from various different perspectives, is shaping the terrain on which the struggle for revolution must be carried out; this conflict is likely to intensify, and could erupt further in violent confrontation, and in any case it would be a significant factor in the context of an all-out struggle between revolution and counter-revolution.”

 

Los Angeles

There were over 100 people on the march and 140 at the Hollywood “Walk of Fame” where people covered up the Trump “star” on the sidewalk. Of the 25 or so events taking place in Los Angeles today, this was the only one challenging Trump’s KKKampaign rally in Tulsa. The action got framed well at the beginning by the MCs, sharpening the crossroads and stakes and what Tulsa actually represents today, what this tells us about the fascists and their white supremacist genocidal program. Noche from the National Revolution Tour was particularly sharp on the nature of the U.S. and its history of violent white supremacy—“so don’t tell me it can’t happen here”—zeroing in on the moment we are in, which now powerfully has a NEW situation with mass resistance, which needs to be connected with Trump/Pence Out Now! and with revolution. Noche did a call-and-response on the main slogan in BA’s “Nothing Less!” statement and invited people to get into BA on revolution. And he raised, “How can you get rid of white supremacy and police murder of Black and Brown people when you have an open white supremacist and fascist in the White House and who controls the levers of power?” This rally also included a speech from Rich Procida, from LA Progressive and Bible Study for Progressives. His participation concentrated an important trend in the Trump/Pence Out Now! movement.

There wasn’t a huge crowd out along the route, but definitely there were people out and the march was tight and powerful. It picked up people along the way, including Black youths on electric bikes who joined. There were cars following the march, people who were providing water and food, and there were people hanging out of cars with posters. Most of the people had the “#OUT NOW” Refuse Fascism sticker, which had a big impact. The big “Trump/Pence Out Now!” banner was held by seven people from the beginning of the rally to the end of the event. Some of us started leading the “How do we get out of this mess? Revolution—Nothing Less!” chant, and people took it up—we had a whole thing where people were taking up the chants, leading them, playing the drums together with us.

 

New York City

There was a lot that had to do with standing up for justice going on this afternoon in Union Square. People doing art; chalking the sidewalk, making posters, and painting on bedsheets the names (George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery especially); dozens of people riding bikes in a group decked out with Black Lives Matter signs and chanting George Floyd’s name. Around 3 pm, 150-200 people marched into the square and held a brief Black Lives Matter rally. People got on the bullhorn and called out to them not to leave because a Refuse Fascism rally that’s demanding “Trump/Pence Out Now!” is starting in a few minutes. “Stay and march with us to Trump Tower to deliver the message.” And most of the people did stay.

When the rally at Union Square in Manhattan got started, there were 400+ people there. A speaker for Refuse Fascism and another person repping the Revolution Club did a good one-two getting things started. The Refuse Fascism speaker laid out what was at stake in the need to drive this regime out. The club speaker spoke to the reality that the horrors were baked into the very fabric of the system and that to end them you needed an actual revolution—and the leadership we have for this revolution in BA. And he called on people from whatever perspective to join with Refuse Fascism to drive out the regime. After a dancer performed to “Fight the Power,” Carl Dix said, “Don’t let anyone tell you that determination is just an idle youthful dream. We can end these horrors, and to do that we have to get serious and get organized for revolution.” He urged people to check out BA’s work, especially the Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution speech.

By the time we were in the street, the protest had grown, maybe to as many as 700-800. The march went to the Trump Tower where there was another rally, and from there people marched to the West Side highway, down the highway and then came east back over to Union Square.

 

Chicago

6 pm, Saturday, 150 raucous protesters gathered at Millennium Park in Chicago. Called together by Refuse Fascism, the Revolution Club, and Degenerate Artists Against Fascism, the very diverse, young crowd chanted “No to White Supremacy, Drive Out the Trump Regime” and “How Do We Get Out of This Mess? Revolution, Nothing Less” and other chants to the beats set by a drum and percussion crew. After a short, powerful speech by Lou from the Refuse Fascism calling out Trump's fascist rally in Tulsa and addressing the history of the Tulsa massacre, the crowd took the street on Michigan Avenue and marched to Trump Tower. A contingent with a “Close the Camps, Free the Kids” banner came from an earlier protest at ICE HQ. The Refuse Fascism 20-foot orange “Trump/Pence OUT NOW!” banner was carried into the rally at Trump Tower by a group of 8 Black youth in their teens and 20s who volunteered after meeting Refuse Fascism activists on the way. The Revolution Club carried the beautiful “Revolution—Nothing Less” banner 

The rally began with a speak-out. Several young people stepped forward. A 23-year-old Black man said he had first protested 5 years ago with the Revolution Club after the police murder of Laquan McDonald. He said since then there have been thousands more people murdered. He put out a call “to anybody in gangs, let’s all get together. To people whatever the color of your skin, let’s get together because this is mad important.” A Black woman echoed this when she told everyone to put their fist in the air to “show that together we are strong.” A Latina who was part of the “Close the Camps, Free the Kids” crew spoke of the heartbreak of kids in cages, the separation of families, and the concentration camps: “We have to look out for each other and take care of each other.” Another Black woman displayed a handwritten poster with dozens of names of people murdered by police. A 21-year-old Black woman said that she had been attacked by police two years ago at Lollapalooza and she could not breathe. She said there are tens of thousands of Black people like her who were brutalized and traumatized by police but “didn’t die and so nobody knows about it.” She said the police serve a “global hierarchy of capitalism” to keep us down.  

Niko from the Revolution Club read from BAsics 1:24 on the role of the police. He challenged people that there is a way to get to a world where this horrific shit doesn’t go on anymore and challenged them to find out about BA and the revolution. 

Everyone took a knee for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in memory of George Floyd. 

And then it was 7 pm—when in Tulsa, Trump was inciting his followers with his fascist poison and upholding the “heritage” of white supremacist, slavery-defending Confederate generals. In the front of Trump Tower Chicago stood a mock monument, a life-size cardboard cutout of Trump and Pence that said “Topple THIS Confederate Monument.” Words exposing the crimes of this regime, strewn across the monument, were read aloud while the crowd booed each one: “White Supremacist, Fascist, Theocrat, Woman-hater, Climate Denier, anti-LGBT, Anti-Muslim, Anti-immigrant, anti-Rule-of-Law…”

Then it was time for the countdown: 10,9,8...3,2,1—and the Trump/Pence “monument” was toppled over and immediately stomped on.

This protest got good coverage by 5 local TV stations on the 9 or 10 pm news, which showed it in connection to Trump’s rally in Tulsa.

The protest took over the Michigan Avenue Bridge and then marched north into the recently opened restaurant district. People in cars, on the street and in restaurants cheered the marchers and some waiters raised fists.

(Editors’ note: The following is from the protest on Juneteenth—Friday, June 19.)

We headed over to hook up with the protest at a park in the South Loop. Traffic was backed up for blocks and people were walking along the streets holding homemade cardboard signs heading for this gathering. When the traffic came to halt we decided to exit our cars and march the rest of the way. Our crew chanted and marched past people eating at outside restaurants who greeted us with raised fists. At the park, we passed out the glossy two-sided poster from revcom.us with the exposure of the 1921 Tulsa massacre on one side and BA’s “Nothing Less!” statement on the other.

When the march finally poured out from the park it was huge. There were thousands of people. It was joyous and festive. People danced and drummed and chants rang out: “Say her name...,” “Say his name...,” “Black Lives Matter” and more. The Revolution Club led a wide array of chants, picking up on those the crowd was doing and interspersing our own. Many joined in with “It’s time, It’s time, It’s time to get organized for an actual revolution” and other chants. People around us also joined in with “We are the Revcoms, the mighty, mighty Revcoms.” It was a very cool scene.


June 20, Seattle


Refuse Fascism in Tulsa, near the Trump rally site.


Tulsa, June 20, protesters kneel as part of protest of Trump's Nazi campaign rally.

Emma Kaplan from Refuse Fascism interviewed on MSNBC by reporter Cal Perry

Los Angeles, June 20, 2020

Noche Diaz, Los Angeles, June 20, 2020


June 20, New York City

Carl Dix, New York City, June 20, 2020

Chicago, June 20, 2020

 

 

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