Women’s resistance is honored

Women of all ages and nationalities gathered here on March 27 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. The march and rallies were initiated by the International Working Women’s Day Coalition. The event was celebratory and moving as participants honored women who have fought for justice and equality over the past century. The need for unity in the ongoing struggles women face at home and worldwide was a constant theme.

New York: Hundreds march in solidarity with women’s resistance around the world. WW photo: John Catalinotto

The opening rally was held at Union Square, a historic site of many political demonstrations, including those led by women at the turn of the 20th century. The rally was chaired by LeiLani Dowell, an organizer of Fight Imperialism, Stand Together, and Melanie Dulfo of Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment and GABRIELA USA. Speakers recognized the resistance of women around the world to violence and oppression, from the fight for legalization of immigrants, to freedom for political prisoners and the end of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Women’s issues at home, including health care, education, jobs and reproductive justice were also highlighted.

Dahlia Abi Saab of Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, spoke of the struggle of Palestinian women against U.S.-Israeli attacks and for their right to their homeland. Jocelyn Gay, a Haitian activist and artist, described the legacy of Haiti’s resistance to slavery. Other speakers included Ramatu Ahmed, deputy secretary of the National Council of Ghanaian Associations; Dalia Griñan, a ninth grader and co-organizer of the May 29 post-Katrina/Rita Awareness Walk; and Lucy Pagoada, a high school teacher and Honduran activist.

The spirited march was led by Working Women for Peace, a mostly Latina group that dressed like the women suffragettes who supported IWD a century ago. Along the way the march stopped in front of Bank of America, which has foreclosed on hundreds of thousands of homes after receiving billions in bailout money from the federal government.

Gavrielle Gemma, a Bail Out the People Movement organizer, told the crowd that one-quarter of New York City’s $63 billion budget goes each year to the banks in tax-free interest payments. “We have to take back the wealth and give it to the people,” she said.

A special ceremony for fire victims

Protesters then marched to the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Memorial, the site of the 1911 fire in which 146 women and girls were killed because the bosses had barricaded the factory exits. Many of these immigrants jumped from the ninth floor to their deaths to escape the fire. Protesters wore nametags with the names and ages of those who died at the fire site. Brenda Stokely of the Million Worker March Movement and the IWWD coalition noted that at the time of the fire there were no fire codes, no child labor laws and no registration of buildings. She said sweatshops still exist and workers continue to die on the job. “We are here to honor all women and to fight against the cruelty and greed of the bosses,” Stokely said.

Women called out the names of some of the victims and the names of others who have been important in the history of resistance. Ndigo, a cultural artist and activist, performed an African libation. Nieves Ayress, a Chilean activist and member of La Peña del Bronx, called on people to destroy the capitalist system, which is continuing to exploit and kill women all over the world. Christine Williams, a rank-and-file transit worker, acknowledged the deaths of transit workers on the job.

On the way to a final rally at the Solidarity Center, the marchers stopped outside St. Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village to demand that it remain open. The hospital, which has served the poor since 1849, is facing closure.

Monica Moorehead, an IWWD and Women’s Fightback organizer, chaired the closing rally. “An entire world system of capitalism is based on making profit, not satisfying people’s needs,” she said. “We need to connect with each other and build a powerful movement that can satisfy people’s needs.”

One of the contingents in the IWD march was a group of high school students from Build On, a youth organization that does community service locally and in other countries. At the closing session, Build On members Courtney Beckett of Mott Hall Bronx High School and Luis Alenso of the Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics expressed how important it was to them to be working to make a difference in people’s lives.

Joyce Gill-Campbell, organizational coordinator with Domestic Workers United, described the racist and sexist treatment that Caribbean, Latina and African nannies, housekeepers and elderly caregivers face on the job. She noted that a Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights has been introduced in the New York state Senate that would provide these super-exploited workers with paid vacations and holidays, overtime pay, protection from discrimination and inclusion in state labor laws.

Teresa Gutierrez, co-coordinator of the May 1 Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights, spoke about the historic march for immigrant rights in Washington, D.C., on March 21, where 250,000 people came to demand legalization, and the need to continue building the movement for May Day and forward. Sharon Black, a home health care worker and a coordinator of the May 8 Jobs Initiative in Washington, D.C., described the campaign to use the Works Project Administration of the 1930s to evoke what is needed now: a jobs program to put 30 million people back to work and to stop the avalanche of foreclosures, utility shutoffs, health care budget cuts and school closings. Valerie Francisco, a Filipina activist with Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment, talked about women’s role in fighting for the abolition of imperialism and militarization.

The IWD event gave special recognition to Jamie and Gladys Scott, African-American sisters who were convicted of stealing $11 and given double life sentences. They have been in prison almost 16 years. Attorney Jaribu Hill, executive director of the Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights, spoke about their case by phone. She called on people to write to the governor of Mississippi, members of Congress, and the commissioner of prisons to demand that they be released. Information about their case is at www.freethescottsisters.blogspot.com.