On Jan. 28, nearly a thousand Pittsburghers gathered at Schenley Plaza for an emergency rally in solidarity with immigrants, Muslims and refugees. The event was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, CAIR Pittsburgh, ANSWER Coalition, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Casa San Jose and the Thomas Merton Center. At the rally, a diverse set of speakers spoke to the crowd representing several different sectors of society who are under imminent threat by the Trump program.
Brenda Solkez of the PSL delivered an electrifying appeal for the nationally oppressed peoples in the United States, stating “The only original people of this land are Native Americans. Let’s not forget that almost half of what is United States today was Mexico’s land. Let’s not forget that immigrants are what made and make what the United States is today! Let’s ask our mayor to declare Pittsburgh a sanctuary city for ALL—all kinds of immigrants (student visa, work visa, refugees, undocumented), for people of color, for Muslims, LGBTQ, Native Americans, for ALL!”
PSL organizer Taylor Goel spoke rousingly about the need to stand up against new outrages by the Trump administration, while recognizing that virulent anti-immigrant policy is not at all a rupture from the past thirty years of Democratic and Republican political practice. For instance, the North American Free Trade Agreement is but one example of the U.S. empire’s program of super-exploitation of developing countries, having transformed millions of Mexicans into economic refugees who are forced to search for work within the empire.
“We will not tolerate racism, sexism and bigotry in any form and we will unite to fight against it. We will stand against that damn wall of Trump. That wall, sisters and brothers, is already in place. It already cost the lives of thousands of Mexican people.”
Christina Acuna Castillo of the Thomas Merton Center added, “Dividing families and banning refugees is not the answer to our country’s economic and political turmoil. Our country needs to take responsibility of the refugee crisis that we’ve created throughout the world.”
Following several speeches denouncing racism, bigotry and U.S. imperialism, the crowd filled Forbes Avenue and marched to militant slogans like, “Stop Racist Deportations, Working People Have No Nations!” As the masses of the people marched down Forbes Avenue, motorists and bus drivers proclaimed their solidarity by honking their horns for minutes on end and raising their fists in unity with the marchers. The demonstration culminated in a mass occupation of the front lawn of Carnegie Mellon University, a nest of imperialist and militarist research and development.
