Los Angeles

As many as ten thousand Iranians marched through the streets of downtown Los Angeles. The “Freedom Rally for Iran” included celebrities, public figures, university students, human rights advocates and others. One young woman held a sign that read, “Be her voice.” Southern California has the largest number of Iranian residents outside Iran. Many protesters knew they were taking a risk protesting, but felt they had to take to the streets. One held a sign that read, “How many protesters has the Iranian government killed today?” with red handprints in the background. The other side of the sign showed photos of 20 people who have been killed during the demonstrations in Iran. When the march got to LA City Hall, the singer Iranian singer Googoosh addressed the crowd. Speakers blasted out “Baraye,” the ballad by Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour that has become the anthem of the protests: “For women, life, freedom; for freedom, for freedom.”

San Francisco

Between 5,000 and 10,000 people, mostly Iranians, marched and rallied in San Francisco. This powerful and moving event called on everyone to support the women of Iran. One activist estimated that 90 percent of those who came were at their first protest in the U.S.—although many had been involved in protests. “Woman, Life, Freedom” was everywhere, on signs, banners, t-shirts, along with many chants like: “Mahsa Amini, Say her name” “Hey hey, ho ho, Islamic Regime has got to go,” “Women of Iran, we see you; women of Iran, we hear you; women of Iran, we love you.” Some people talked about how they had given up on ever being able to return to Iran to see relatives, but that the uprising has given them hope.

Chicago

The protest was organized by a diverse group and the crowd, which grew to at least 2,000, was loud, defiant, angry, and also joyous. It was almost entirely Iranians. Most of the people were young, but the crowd included older people as well. People came from Ann Arbor, Champaign and Milwaukee. The most popular chant was, “Say Her Name! Mahsa Amini!” “Woman, Life, Freedom” (in both English and Farsi) and "Death to the Dictator" (in both languages). Police forced the march to stay on the sidewalk. Then it took to the street and the energy level soared with people defiantly jumping up and down, clapping and chanting. The crowd poured into Daley Plaza for the culmination of the march. As the crowd was leaving, people wrote statements on two enormous banners to be sent to the UN. 

New York

About 1,500-2,000 Iranians marched from 14th Street to Washington Square Park, chanting death to the dictator and Mahsa Amini's name. There were Iranians of all ages, from the 20s to the 70s. This was an outpouring of "ordinary" Iranians along with their families and friends and many came with homemade signs. The Iranian groups that had organized protests at the UN didn’t have a noticeable presence. A lot of the crowd was under 40—not veterans of the struggle in Iran of the early 1980s. There were some students from Columbia University. There was a significant section of about 100-200 non-Iranians who came in support.

Houston

Over 2,000 people, overwhelmingly Iranian, poured into City Hall plaza, chanting, “Mahsa Amini,” “Death to Khameini,” “Down with the Islamic Republic,” and “Revolution is the Solution.” Hundreds of copies of the revcom statement and the communiqué of the Communist Party of Iran (MLM) were distributed. This was the largest of six protests that have been held in the Houston area since September 21st.

Cleveland

About 150-200 people came to protest. The crowd was almost all Iranians, but people were very happy that some non-Iranians had come to show their support. Revolution was in the air and it was very inspiring. A long line of people held signs, each one for someone killed in the current uprising. Groups of women danced and several publicly cut their hair.

Detroit

About 300-400 people attended an Iranian Freedom Rally. The crowd was almost all Iranians, mainly young, in their late 20s and 30s. One woman said that many people like herself had come to the U.S. after finishing school to look for jobs and to get away from the conditions in Iran. The revcoms and some people from RiseUp4AbortionRights were just about the only non-Iranians at the protest. The revcoms brought a banner with the slogan “Break the Chains, Unleash the Fury of Women as a Mighty Force for Revolution.” Many people did not read the flyers from the revcoms on the spot but responded to the verbal agitation about how liberating women must be at the core of liberating all humanity.

Boston

More than 500 people gathered by the steps of the State House and marched to protest Iran's treatment of women. One protester said, “We want freedom for all women in Iran and we want freedom for all people in Iran because some people are protesting in Iran and they are being killed in the streets.” Another said, “It's just brought out so much anger, so much hurt from all of us that we can't stay silent, even though us being here right now is a danger to all of us.” As a symbol of revolt a number of women cut their hair.