Press Conference in Chicago:
Into the Streets July 15: Trump and Pence Must Go!
July 11, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Tuesday, July 11. A press conference was held by Refuse Fascism in Chicago to announce a protest on July 15 in Chicago that will be part of nationwide protests on that day saying: “Trump and Pence Must Go.”
Linda Solitaire of Refuse Fascism drove home a key theme reiterated by all the speakers—that the fate of humanity is at stake and everyone who agonizes over the threats and attacks of the Trump/Pence regime needs to join together and stand up on July 15. Solitaire said, “If you think you can’t make a change, you are wrong. We have to drive out this fascist Trump-Pence regime not just for ourselves, but in the name of humanity.”
Bishop Gregg L. Greer, President of Freedom First International said, “The very survival of the world is at stake and depends on what we do. The threat of nuclear war is progressing daily and people all around the world are saying we have to stop the rise of fascism here...We need everybody to take up this call and rise up. We must stop it now! Say NO!”
Ted Sirota, founder of Degenerate Artists Against Fascism, said DAAF is uniting artists from all over the world—Australia, Palestine, Greece—against this fascist regime. Sirota said, “Trump’s speech in Poland was a white nationalist and fascist speech. This regime is moving forward their fascist agenda daily, setting whole peoples up for genocide—clamping down on the Black and Latino masses on the South Side and West Side, Muslims, ICE raids on immigrants.” He said that “the Nazi genocide against Jews was underway for a long time before the ‘final solution’ where they were gassed in the concentration camps. We have to act now.” Sirota also read the DAAF 10 points of unity [available at the Facebook page of Degenerate Artists Against Fascism https://www.facebook.com/DegenerateArtists/ ]
Mark Clements, Chairperson, Campaign to End Torture, said, “It is important that we stand together against the Trump administration. I come from the struggle against the criminal justice system. I stand with Yusef Salaam who was railroaded as a teenager into prison for a crime he did not commit. We can’t wait four years, we must change the course of history now. I was tortured by the Chicago police in 1981 when I was a teenager and wrongfully sent to prison. Now with Trump I have great concern that the private prison system is booming again. This is a wake-up call to demand change. Come out on July 15, support our cause, Dump Trump!”
Father Bob Bossie, Catholic priest and long-time activist called on people of all faiths: “Come out to support those oppressed by this regime. Stand up for what is right.”
Sharon Sanders from United for Democracy Now!, one of the endorsers of July 15, was unable to attend the press conference but sent a statement which said in part: “Fifty years ago, the right-wing, from religious fundamentalists to billionaires who wanted it all for themselves, brilliantly planned to work behind the scenes to take over this country. Trump is only a symptom of the growing fascism in this country. People learned nothing from Nazi Germany. History is repeating itself. They believe it can’t happen here. Well, it is happening right before our eyes.”
At the end everyone chanted together: “Into the streets, July 15th, into the streets, July 15th, Drive Out the Trump Regime.”
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