Saturday's "Fight The Trump Takeover" Protest In Beacon

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Photo Credit: Jean Noack

By Jean Noack

A "Fight the Trump Takeover" protest was held at noon at Polhill Park in Beacon. About 50 to 75 people participated in the demonstration in temperatures nearing 90 degrees. The event was part of a nationwide day of protest to "push back against Trump's latest power grab: sweeping redistricting in Texas, the Police takeover in Washington DC and the show of force in Los Angeles.” The Hudson Valley chapter of Indivisible 845 was on the scene in Beacon, and encouraging supporters to become more involved by going to www.indivisible845.org

The Polhill Park site is popular for protests as it is at the intersection of Route 9D and the start of Main Street, making motorists and people walking up the hill from the train station an audience to the signs and chants.

New this time was the use of umbrellas by protesters that had slogans written on them as a way to get across a message as well as to provide shade.

Photo Credits: All photos by Jean Noack.

CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Challenged By Demonstrator At U.S. House Of Representatives

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In a video first published by @PulseofPal on Instagram, a young female demonstrator was dragged out of U.S. House of a Representatives Committee on Education and Workforce hearing in Washington D.C. regarding “campus antisemitism” after shouting at CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos, who was testifying. The Pro-Palestinian demonstrator said: “How can you sit there talking about the feelings of Jewish students, when there are no universities left in Gaza? There’s blood on your hands! You are a genocidal war criminal!”

“How can you sit there talking about the feelings of Jewish students, when there are no universities left in Gaza? There’s blood on your hands! You are a genocidal war criminal!”
— Young Woman

@CCNYSJP (Students for Justice in Palestine at the City College of New York) responded with more footage of the student’s message during the Congressional Hearing on “Antisemitism on College Campuses” from other angles. That footage has been republished in this arrticle.

Said @CCNYSJP: “We the students reject the conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism. While Congress and universities distract the public with their propaganda, our tax dollars and tuition continue to fund the genocide of the Palestinian people. While they sit discussing ‘feelings,’ there are no universities left in Gaza.

“We demand our students and faculty are reinstated. We demand divestment. We will not be silenced.”

“We the students reject the conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism. While Congress and universities distract the public with their propaganda, our tax dollars and tuition continue to fund the genocide of the Palestinian people. While they sit discussing ‘feelings,’ there are no universities left in Gaza.”
— CCNYSJP

Prior to this hearing, SUNY BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanctions) issued a press release stating their participation in a rally in NYC set to happen outside a summit that Chancelor Matos was supposed to be attending, but was “skipping the summit in order to capitulate to the federal government,” they said. “He will be in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, testifying before Congress that CUNY has sufficiently repressed Palestinian solidarity activism.”

This demonstrator was vocalizing at that hearing in Washington D.C. while SUNY BDS and CUNY students demonstrated against both chancellors in NYC. Read about their plans here.

Pro-Palestinian CUNY and SUNY Organizers Picket Center For An Urban Future 2nd Annual NYC Economic Mobility Summit

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Update: “CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Challenged By Demonstrator At U.S. House Of Representatives”

###Press Release Printed In Full From SUNY BDS###

“This Tuesday, on July 15th at 10AM EST, a group of CUNY and SUNY organizers will join together to picket outside of The Center for an Urban Future’s second annual NYC Economic Mobility Summit on 150 West 17th Street.”

“Both the CUNY (Felix Matos) and SUNY (John King) chancellors are scheduled to speak at the summit on “How Can NYC Advance Economic Mobility Amid Harmful Federal Policies?” However, the CUNY chancellor is skipping the summit in order to capitulate to the federal government. He will be in Washington DC on Tuesday, testifying before Congress that CUNY has sufficiently repressed Palestinian solidarity activism.”

“We will gather outside of the NYC Economic Mobility Summit to show our chancellors what fighting back against the federal government really means. To truly resist fascism means to defend your students, staff, and faculty in their first amendment rights and protect them from militarized police forces, ICE, and DHS. It means standing against the US-funded israeli genocide of Palestinians by divesting from israel and weapons manufacturing companies.”

“We will begin our picket at the time CUNY chancellor Felix Matos begins his testimony before Congress, while his counterpart, SUNY chancellor John King, talks about how to resist this same federal government. Our goal is to reiterate our shared demands to those in leadership at our universities and the people of New York State, whose taxes fund our universities. These demands are:"

  • Disclose foundation investments

  • Divest from weapons manufacturers and technology committing this genocide

  • Amnesty for protestors and protection for non-citizen students/staff/faculty

  • Replace the BOT with democratic, collective student-faculty-worker-community governance”

Beacon Pride March: LGBTQ+ Friends and No Pride In Genocide

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The Pride marched down Main Street today, led by KK Devina BeaconLGBTQ. The march was specifically declared *not* a parade in promotional material. In KK’s speech before the march kicked off, KK spoke of why they created their Queer Fam: to create a protected space for themselves to exist and continue to speak out.

In KK’s 47 years of life, they have lost 47 friends to anti-queer actions or influence, “And I’m not even in a war,” they said. Just two days ago, they lost someone else, a trans woman muralist.

For this march, ALBB covered it by focusing on KK and no other photos, since in the LGBTQ+ space, safety is so important as people are targeted. Cindy Gould also attended taking photos.

ALBB heard one heckler early on in the area of the shops on the far west end of town, after leaving Pohill Park from above the sidewalk, shout: “Girls are girls and boys are boys!”

Chants include wore a 🍉watermelon shirt that said SILENCE = DEATH. The sidewalk was peaceful and many passerby’s showed their support. Chants included:

“No Justice, No Peace.”
“Who’s future? Our future.”
“From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever.”
“No borders, no nations, stop deportations.”
“Bottoms Tops, no more Cops.”
“Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Climate Change has got to go.”
“Gender Bender, system offenders.”
“No borders, no nations, trans liberation.”
“No borders, no nations, queer liberation.”
”We’re queer; we’re fruits; we’re looking for recruits.”

The march ended at the VFW Memorial Building. The VFW wpened their space for the reception, where swag included groceries and freshly made empanadas (vegan and carnivore). Groceries were open to all, said KK, and encourage everyone to collect fresh heads of lettuce, onions, bags of greens, granola bars, juice, chips, and hygiene.

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🇵🇸🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

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