Rosa Parks Human Rights Day protest

A spirited protest of over 50 community activists was staged here on Dec. 1 to commemorate the 53rd anniversary of the arrest of Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Ala., for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus for a white man. Parks’ act launched the modern Civil Rights Movement.

The protest was sponsored by the Rosa Parks Human Rights Day Committee of the Rhode Island Peoples Assembly/Asemblea Popular. Participating and supporting groups included DARE (Direct Action for Rights & Equality), DARE Youth, UMAM (Urban Men Against Murder), SOCK (Saving Our Club Kids), SGAW (Sisters Gathering at the Well), NOI (Nation of Islam), The George Wiley Center, the Laborers Union, and State, City and Municipal Employees Council 94.

The demonstrators demanded bail out the people, not the banks; fund human needs, not capitalist greed; tax the rich, not the poor; foreclose on the wars, not our homes; feed the people, not the Pentagon; stop foreclosures, evictions, utility shutoffs, layoffs and RIPTA (Rhode Island Public Transit Authority) service cuts; no city, state or federal cuts to human needs; full employment and jobs at living wages; universal health care; affordable housing and utilities; secure pensions and social security; and a green future.

The afternoon demonstration took place on Broad Street in Providence, across the street from the town of Crossroads. The protest was kicked off and coordinated by Mary Kay Harris of DARE. A large contingent of DARE youth marched in with a banner to join the demonstration.