Los Angeles

On March 11, 2023 about 65 people came together on Venice Beach for an International Women’s Day march and rally that was joyous, fierce and revolutionary. We kicked off the day with a powerful rally at the Venice Boardwalk. We chanted together, heard speakers from Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights )RU4AR), from the International Emergency Campaign to Free Iran’s Political Prisoners Now (IEC), and from the Revcoms. We also had song and poetry, with members of the revolution club performing “Cancion Sin Miedo” and a poem written by a revcom “Because...”.

The RU4AR speaker gave people a sense of the urgency on the attacks on abortion rights, and what RU4AR is working on and bringing to people, challenging the idea that we are safe being in states like CA, while others tell women to stay calm. The speakers from the IEC brought to life the courageous struggle of the women in Iran, the demand that all the political prisoners be freed. They told us of the horrible repression women and girls are facing, but also shined a light to the possibility of a different world. They led us in a chant: “Women, Life, Freedom! Zan, Zendegi, Azadi!”

Annie Day with the Revcoms brought to people what they don't know and have not felt – that we don't have to live this way. What a new society would look and feel like, the possibility to make a revolution, and what we have to shake off to make that revolution a reality. People from the stage to the crowd were in tears, inspired and unleashed. The rally was powerful and moving, people who came feeling alone especially right now, were welded together as a force, beginning with the rally and through the course of the day, moving together to impact with these slogans.

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Chicago IWD Celebration, March 11:

From the Revolution Club Chicago

We were pleased that close to 40 people joined our celebration of International Women's Day at our organizing center on Chicago's southeast side. Most of the nearby storefronts are still empty and boarded up, having never recovered from the pandemic. But the storefront at 1875 E 71st Street, the Revolution Club Organizing Center, was definitely “live.”

We had zip-tied the “Break All the Chains, Unleash the Fury of Women for Revolution” banner to the outside grate. New decorations inside included enlargements of photos from Wednesday's International Women's Day rally and march called by the club and photos of the “green wave” in Latin America. Rise Up for Abortion Rights brought a beautiful display. There was an array of “snacks from around the world.”

Participants included at least a half dozen people who had never been to our center before and others who had maybe been there only once or twice. As they arrived, people from the neighborhood and other parts of the city loaded up their plates with snacks and took their seats.

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Downtown Chicago, International Women’s Day, March 8

The poem “Because,” read by Annie Day, could be heard across the street as it blasted from the sound system catching people’s attention as the crowd gathered. The banner, “Break the Chains, Unleash the Fury of Women as a Mighty Force for Revolution” framed the rally and led the march. There were large photos of women erupting in struggle in Iran, in Mexico, and in Latin America. Lots of green bandanas and stickers with “Forced Motherhood is Female Enslavement.” A Rise Up for Abortion Rights contingent was there with banners “Legal Abortion Nationwide” and signs and a banner to free women imprisoned in El Salvador for the crime of a miscarriage.

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Bay Area

March 8 in the San Francisco Bay Area jumped off with a rally and speakout in the San Francisco Mission District.  In the evening, about 30 people joined in a celebration at Revolution Books hosted by the Revolution Club, with poets, a performance of an original song, videos of Annie Day presenting “Because,” and Bob Avakian on what it means to break all the chains.  It was serious and joyous, and a high point was everyone joining in to sing a version of the song “Bella Ciao”—dedicated to the women in Evin Prison in Iran.  Women political prisoners have videoed themselves singing “Bella Ciao” in Farsi after they were released from prison and have even recorded themselves singing the song inside the prison.  At the end of the event, people wrote and posted statements of defiance outside the bookstore.  And made plans to go to Los Angeles for the IWD protest on Saturday March 11.

Cleveland, Ohio

On March 11, a crew went out for International Women’s Day, holding street corner rallies around town.

We had a large festive banner that read "Break the Chains, Unleash the Fury of Women as a Mighty Force for Revolution,” and signs that read "Abortion on demand and without apology," "Forced Motherhood Is Female Enslavement,"  "Capitalism and Patriarchy-you can't end one without ending the other," and "We need a revolution, nothing less."

We protested at a local Walgreens for their refusal to provide Mifepristone, at a fake clinic ("crisis pregnancy center"), and at a town square where we got lots of honks and raised fists. 

Philadelphia