Los Angeles preliminary report
(Pictures ©2006 Stephen Sakulsky, all rights reserved – www.sakulsky.com)
They
came with drums, pots and pans, trumpets, clarinets, cans filled with
beans, noisemakers of all sizes, shapes and sounds – young, old, of all
nationalities and backgrounds – with one simple demand: BUSH STEP DOWN!
A preliminary estimate of
about 3,000 people gathered and marched in Los Angeles to refuse to
recognize this regime and to drown out Bush’s lies. The march was led
by the Aztec dancers, and when it took off from Hollywood and Highland,
many tourists and shoppers from all over the world who hadn’t heard of
the protest joined in. The Watts drum corps had organized in south
central and put out their own call to take up the demand, Bush Step
Down; and there was a significant number of black people, old and
young, in the crowd. The high school youth were once again in the lead
– with several walk-outs that we know of and over 27 schools in the
house. Many youth had come to the office for materials and organized
friends and others when they heard of the protest through My Space.
About 7 or 8 colleges that we know of mobilized, including: Cerritos
College Mecha, who have been actively organizing against the Minutemen
hunting down of immigrants at the border and who wrote a call to all
activists to take up the World Can’t Wait; Occidental College students
from ‘Oxi Conscious’ who have been holding ‘Bloody Mondays’ on their
campus against the nomination of Alito and sounding the alarm about the
attack on women’s reproductive rights – and who bought their tickets to
Washington, D.C. as soon as they heard about it – and called on
everyone to do the same. But not far behind were the 60’s generation
people who remembered driving out Nixon, and grandparents who don’t
want to see a world of war and torture for their grandchildren.
Speakers and performers
included: actress Lucia Marano reading Eve Ensler’s poem, ‘Fire His
Ass’ and who later did a dramatic reading of a major statement from
Gore Vidal; Rev. Lewis Chase; Dolly Veale (Revolutionary Communist
Party, USA); Jane & Jim Bright (Gold Star Families); Blase Bonpane
(Office of the Americas); Dwight Trible (jazz vocalist); rap producer
Fredwreck reading Harry Belafonte’s statement to the Bush Crimes
Commission; Suzanne Gage (Progressive Health Services); Jan Lundberg
(energy conservation advocate from Culturechange.org); Jim Lafferty
(Executive Director of the National Lawyers’ Guild, L.A. Chapter); Rev.
Meri Ka Ra Byrd (KRST Unity Center).
The
event was covered by all the major media channels, college newspapers,
alternative press and many international press, including a pre-rally
interview on CNN spanish from Atlanta. Scattered reports so far: Indy
Media, L.A. called to report they had put up major coverage on their
website and that they had seen a very favorable report on Channel 5,
KTLA. Some students reported watching Channel 11 Fox news, that had
more coverage of the protest than of the State of the Union, and closed
their report for the evening by saying, ‘We were skeptical at first,
but Nixon was forced to resign – these people may have a point.’ On to
Washington, D.C.!
News, Video & Photo Coverage
VIDEO: Bush Step Down Protests in Hollywood
by Alexx Thompson
Photos: Bush Step Down in Hollywood
by Marcus
Wednesday, Feb. 01, 2006 at 3:27 PM
WORLD CANT WAIT – PROTEST HOLLYWOOD, CA
by Stephen Sakulsky
Wednesday, Feb. 01, 2006 at 5:42 PM
Photos from Bush Step Down rally in Hollywood
by Pacifist Vegan Frog
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006 at 9:25 PM
Protest Pictures
by: Patrick Allers
Wednesday, Feb. 01, 2006 at 1:34 AM
Bush gets Drowned Out in Hollywood
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006 at 10:56 PM
Estimates
ranging from 1,500 to 2,000 people marched down Hollywood Blvd tonight
to protest Bush and his speech. Uploaded is a short video clip from the
protest.
VIDEO: Anti-BuSh Protest in Hollywood
Wednesday, Feb. 01, 2006 at 11:34 AM
A short video montage of the protest
Local Protest Attacks Bush
The Lariat Online
Van Darden, Staff Writer
Dozens Cause A Clamor In City Protest
By Adam Leech
aleech@seacoastonline.com
Wednesday, Feb. 01, 2006 at 1:26 AM
A short clip of just one of the many great bands that played at tonight’s Anti-Bush Protest rally
Report on Bush Step Down in LA
by World Can’t Wait–LA
Wednesday, Feb. 01, 2006 at 2:59 PM
WorldCantWait.ORG – LA 323-462-4771