Free the DC 2!

Revolution #037, March 5, 2006, posted at revcom.us

On February 3 three of us traveled to Bladensburg High School in Maryland to pass out the World Can’t Wait leaflet calling for a protest the next day at the White House demanding BUSH STEP DOWN and take your program with you.

As school let out we said: "Leaving thousands of people to die in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina -- are you with that shit or against that shit…waging war based on lies, killing over one hundred thousand Iraqis -- are you with that shit or against that shit…Bush Step Down."

We asked the students: What kind of future did you want? We told them people in New Orleans, in Iraq, Guatánamo Bay…are counting on you.

Students were grabbing up our leaflets and stickers and passing them out to each other.

One Black parent stopped her car in the middle of the street and listened and watched what we were doing. She shouted out: "This is really good!" Many other parents took leaflets.

A school administrator told us he supported what we were doing. We challenged him to organize his colleagues and come out and stand up with us on February 4.

After only about 10 or 15 minutes of doing this a school police rolls up on us.

He yells: "You cannot do that here!" When I explain that what we are doing is not against the law he yells: "You cannot do that in Bladensburg!"

After stopping only long enough to laugh at this modern-day George Wallace, we continued leafletting. (George Wallace was the white supremacist governor of Alabama in the early ’60s who stood in front of a school with the police to prevent Black students from coming in to integrate the school and said: "This is not the United States, this is Mississippi!")

Suddenly some Bladensburg police cars roll up. The cops jump out and confront us. One of them says: "No ifs, ands, or buts about it. They pass out another leaflet, cuff them!"

We pass out more leaflets. Two pigs rush me. They lift and slam me onto the patrol car. Two others rush A.T. (A.T. is a member of the L.A. Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade.)

They singled out the two Black people in the group of us leafletting. One pig had his fist balled up as he beat on A.T. Immediately they came out with pepper spray. Burning, blinding, and choking us with this shit. During this time, students were grabbing leaflets off the ground and from the hood of the police car. The police got into a confrontation with the students and threatened to arrest those who were taking the leaflets.

They charged us with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. They added a battery charge on A.T. Our lawyer comes to the jail but they refuse to let him see us. They refused to accept 10 percent of the bail, so we had to come up with the full amount. It took us a little while to get over all the obstacles they were putting up and when we finally raised the money through donations and got out--the protest at the White House was over.

Why did they come down so heavy-handed--the real way they rule--for passing out leaflets? What are they afraid of?

It was clear to me that they wanted these students to stay in their "place." They feared these Black and Latino students busting out of their "place," standing up and taking responsibility for changing the direction of society. They feared these students acting on the call from World Can't Wait with people of other races and from other parts of society--bringing their experience and insights into this movmement to force: BUSH TO STEP DOWN AND TAKE HIS WHOLE PROGRAM WITH HIM.

DROP ALL CHARGES!

FREE THE DC2!

BUSH STEP DOWN AND TAKE YOUR WHOLE PROGRAM WITH YOU!

Joe Veale--DC REVOLUTION correspondent

Revolutionary Communist Tour

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