June 2015

On the 26th of June, Amnesty International, Witness Against Torture, and others showed up at the Dept of Justice to denounce continuing US torture. The DOJ was called out not only for refusing today to prosecute torture at Guantanimo Bay and elsewhere but also for explicitly authorising it during the Bush years. During the protest, flowers were laid on the concrete barrier planters outside DOJ memorializing those who died under torture in US custody.

Video of protesters laying flowersat DOJ and of the tools of force-feeding at GITMO

The residents of Museum Square, one of the last Section 8 rentals in Chinatown are facing mass eviction followed by demolition and condo construction. Bush Companies (of Williamsburg, Va.), the landlord, offers only an option to buy the building for nearly ten times what the DC government assessed it as being worth for property taxes. On the 23ed of June, the tenants staged a mass protest against the planned evictions. They were backed by the National Alliance of HUD Tenants.

Video highlights of the rally (2 min)

On June 21, the DC Food Justice Bike Tour visited a number of locations with economic and food justice significance. The first was a Ben and Jerry's outlet in Georgetown, where the Milk with Dignity campaign is seeking higher wages for dairy workers in Vermont. This campaign is following in the footsteps of the sucessful Coalition of Immokalee Workers campaign for higher wages in tomato fields. Ben and Jerry's is a major customer of the dairy factory farms in Vermont, just as Burger King is a major customer of tomato producers.

Video of activists entering Ben and Jerry's

On the 16th of June, DC Ferguson returned to the streets and shut down Chinatown, demanding not only that Police Chief Lanier keep the de facto promise she just made to end jump-outs, but also an end to gentrifcation and homelessness. The 16th of June was the 39th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising that marked the start of the movement that ultimately ended Apartheid in South Africa.

1 min 30 sec video of DC Ferguson march in Chinatown