RADICAL PRO-CHOICE CALL TO ACTION FOR APRIL 25, 2004:
—feminists, radical cheerleaders, anti-authoritarians, anarchists and all those concerned with women’s autonomy: join us on April 25th 2004 in Washington, DC for a highly festive mobile cheer bloc!
WHY:
There was a time in America’s history when self-identifying radicals fought tirelessly to end government occupation of the womb—they succeeded. Many of us owe them our lives; all of us owe them our respect. But now, after spending 30 years ignorantly blanketed by the comfort of having the law on our side, the radical community gradually forgot that the freedom we consider a human right is seen by others as a "privilege." After winning Roe v. Wade, we moved on to new issues and failed to see that the responsibility of our reproductive freedom was left in the hands of a few bureaucratic organizations. Such liberal organizations have come to depend greatly upon reformist action; placing all hope in expensive lobbyists and political campaigns. It has become clear in recent months that the bush administration has used these organizations’ petitions as toilet paper—they are failing and the struggle needs our help.
As radicals we stand committed to an ideology, of whatever form, which shapes our identities as well as our actions. Because of this, we, as a movement and as individuals, face a constant unspoken struggle between owning our politics and actually living them. In a society that stands so far from the various utopian visions we may hold, it is difficult—and arguably dangerous—to altogether avoid reformist action. As feminists we must meet this realization with nothing less than complete solidarity. This is a call to action directed at the radical community who must now open its eyes to a new reality in which women’s autonomy is under attack.
We are closer than ever before arriving at the day when the United States government will strip away women’s right to access safe abortion services—a right so essential that its nonexistence has become almost unfathomable. At this pivotal time in history, the radical community must rise up. We must rise up against a tyrannical government which threatens to penetrate women’s bodies with its laws, and we must rise up above our reservations with the liberal bureaucratic organizations that lead the pro-choice movement. We believe that this struggle will be won through solidarity and action; for this reason, we are calling for a radical contingent within a liberal march.
WHEN:
On Sunday April 25, 2004 (the weekend of the annual IMF/World Bank Spring meetings) tens of thousands of feminists will converge in Washington, DC for the end-all-be-all of pro-choice marches, coined “The March for Women’s Lives,” which has been organized collaboratively over the past year by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Feminist Majority Foundation, the National Organization for Women, and NARAL Pro-choice America.
WHAT:
We are calling for a mobile black/purple/pink noise bloc concentrated on radical cheerleading within this larger march. We are asking for people to learn the cheers at home, and come prepared with flags, noise makers and a festive spirit. Because the bloc will be mobile, radical cheering will take a slightly different form than most squads are used to; we envision it as being vocally based, thus allowing anyone to join in. We are calling upon any squads or individuals who have PRO-CHOICE cheers to send them to the contact information below; we will then compile a master cheer list and put it up on a TBA website.
We will hold a guerilla workshop/practice at the National Conference on Organized Resistance (NCOR) taking place in Washington, DC at the end of January, so if you’ll be there, look for signs. Additionally, we will try to put together some practices on April 23-24 so we can learn the cheers together.
Aside from the cheering aspect, we feel the purpose of this contingent is to be as loud and as visible as possible. We want to show our commitment to tactical diversity while showing the government, as well as the pro-choice movement, that the radical community is as committed to the issue of women’s choice as it is to anything else. We are encouraging creative direct action for this march, including: guerilla theater, drums/music, literature distribution, puppets, banners, etc… For the purposes of this march many of our common tactics will prove futile, therefore, as members of the DC community based upon our experience and knowledge of the area, we are discouraging property destruction and police confrontation as tactics.
HOWEVER, if you or your group has a strong affinity for property destruction and/or confrontation, we suggest channeling your efforts in creative ways. For example, we can guarantee that there will be anti-choice counter-protesters present throughout the city. Though angrily confronting such people is useless because they are irrational and will not listen to you, their demonstrations often rely heavily on visuals. These visuals are often put on the sides of mobile vehicles or set up behind a very small fence; either way a thick layer of paint could really compliment a bloody fetus picture.
The late term abortion ban which was recently signed into law is the biggest blow to reproductive autonomy that many of us have experienced in our lifetimes. Government imperialism into women’s bodies is a radical issue and requires radical action. This struggle is time sensitive, we dare not lay dormant any longer and risk the overturn of Roe v. Wade before the end of Bush’s term. Therefore, we must pool all available resources and face the government in solidarity. Join us.
Detailed information involving specific times, locations, and website info will come in the following weeks/months.
Any groups wishing to endorse this call to action and/or aid in the organization of this event please contact us.
All inquiries for further information and submissions of pro-choice cheers/songs, please contact us at:
The Radical Cheerleaders of DC:
RCDC@mutualaid.org
In addition, the specific organizers of this action can be reached directly:
Corie:
202-246-1822
corie@resist.ca
Michael:
202-213-3365
michael@mutualaid.org
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Website: http://www.organizedresistance.org/
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