In the Spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
On his 75th Birthday
PRESS ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday December 26, 2003
Media Contact: Paul Washington (212-788-6957) Dustin Langley (212-633-6646)
Rally in Front of Madison Square Garden
To Demonstrate Opposition to Bush's Convention
And Say "Bring the Troops Home Now!"
Thursday, January 15 4:30-7:00 p.m.
32 St. and 7th Ave.
New York City
On Thursday, January 15, 2004, on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 75th Birthday, members of the New York City Council, labor leaders, members of the clergy, activists, and community leaders plan the first major anti-war, anti-convention demonstration of 2004 in front of Madison Square Garden, site of the Republican National Convention. Organizers are holding this event "in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.," to express anger at Bush's planned convention and to demand "Bring the Troops Home Now."
On April 4, 1967, speaking at New York City's Riverside Church, Dr. King said, "I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today -- my own government. For the sake of those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent."
The Reverend Herbert Daughtry, Pastor of the House of the Lord Church, said, "If Dr. King were alive on his 75th birthday, I have no doubt that he'd be with us in front of Madison Square Garden on January 15th to call on the President to bring the troops home from Iraq and spend the country's money on lifting workers and poor people out of poverty." Martin Luther King III is among the list of invited speakers.
As casualties in Iraq continue to mount and the resistance continues, opposition to Bush's war is escalating. This mobilization will be the first rally of 2004 demanding to "Bring the Troops Home Now." Organizers include: City Council Members Charles Barron, Larry Seabrook, and Bill Perkins; the Harlem Tenants Council; the anti-war coalition ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism); 1199 Bread and Roses Cultural Project; the Center for Constitutional Rights; the NYC Aids Housing Network; and other community and activist organizations.
The Rally is being held in front of Madison Square Garden, the proposed site of the 2004 Republican National Convention. City Council Member Charles Barron, one of the main organizers of the protest, said, "We are rallying in front of the site of Bush's re-election campaign rally next summer because New Yorkers are angry about their city being used and abused by Bush." He continued, "It's really shameful and a little bizarre that Bush is planning to occupy the city with his convention. New Yorkers hate the war, and they don't like anyone, Republican or Democrat, that chooses war over jobs, healthcare, schools, and decent housing."
Larry Holmes, an organizer with the ANSWER coalition, said, "This protest will kick off a grass-roots mobilization to protest, not only the Republican National Convention, but the politicians of both parties that are waging war against the people of Iraq and against the poor and people of color here in the US."
Nellie Bailey, an activist with the Harlem Tenants Council, said, "Nobody asked us if we wanted the convention; we don't like it and we don't want it. It's not true," Ms. Bailey explained, "that the convention is going to bring all these jobs to the city, even temporary jobs. Last week's New York Newsday had an analytical piece debunking the notion that the convention is going to bring jobs and financial help to New York City. I'd like to tell Bush to send jobs, bring the troops home, and then stay home yourself, far away from New York City."
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