Permits Secured for March 19!
The Troops Out Now Coalition has won an important victory by securing permitted rallies in Marcus Garvey Park and Central Park's East Meadow and an ending rally on 5th Avenue and 79th St.on March 19!
Based on a campaign of mass pressure and persistent assertion of our rights, we have won a significant victory, and we will hold a demonstration on 5th Ave, despite the NYPD's attempt to prevent the protest from taking place.
This demonstrates the power and effectiveness of mass protest and determination to struggle.
This power was demonstrated recently as the antiwar movement has forced the government of Italy to announce that it is withdrawing troops from Iraq. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a right wing millionaire and close ally of the Bush Administration, faced a renewed antiwar movement, when thousands took to the streets in response to the U.S. murder of Nicola Calipari, the Italian intelligence agent. This incident sparked outrage in Italy, where public opposition to the war has always been strong.
Hundreds of thousands lined the streets during Calipari's funeral. Demonstrations tooks place all over Italy, demanding the immediate withdrawal of Italy’s 3,000 troops from Iraq. Berlusconi was forced to bend to the will of the people, and announced that Italian troops will be withdrawn from Iraq in September.
Italy is just the latest country to withdraw from the "coaltiion of the willing". Spain, Poland, Hungary, Holland, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Philippines have all either withdrawn their troops or are in the process of doing so, as the antiwar movement in these countries have taken to the streets to oppose the ongoing occupation.
Here in the U.S., we face a greater challenge, with more than 150,000 U.S. troops deployed in Iraq. But as the people of Italy and throughout the world have shown, the power of the antiwar movement in the streets can stop the war, and this is why hundreds of thousands of people will be in the streets once again on March 19.
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Update on March 19-20 Events World Wide
The global antiwar movement has called for the weekend of March 19 & 20 to be international days of protest against the war and occupation.
In the U.S., the Troops Out Now Coalition is organizing a major demonstration in New York City and supporting local actions throughout the country. The NYC demo is one of the largest expected demonstrations in the U.S. with tens of thousands expected and the FIRST major anti-war demonstration coming out of Harlem.
In Los Angeles, the 'Troops Out Now' Caravan will proceed through the community of South Central Los Angeles with signs and banners demanding that King/Drew Trauma Center, a major health care center scheduled to be shut down because of budget cuts, be kept open and given the funds needed to serve the community. The caravan will then join a major anti-war demonstration at Hollywood and Vine at 12 noon. For details, see:
http://www.iacenterla.org or
http://www.answerla.org.
In San Francisco, protesters will assemble at 11 a.m. in Dolores Park and march to a 1 p.m. rally at the Civic Center--for more information, see:
http://www.actionsf.org/anscall050124.htm
In Fayetteville, Home of Fort Bragg and the 82nd Airborne, thousands will rally to say "Bring the Troops Home Now!" For more information, see:
http://www.ncpeacejustice.org
Meanwhile, nearly 600 cities and towns across the globe are holding events on the 2nd anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.
Below is a list of some of the protests planned for this world wide day of resistance:
AFRICA: South Africa, Egypt.
LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN: Brazil, Mexico.
ASIA/PACIFIC: Australia, Bangladesh, India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea.
NORTH AMERICA: Canada (30 cities), USA , Mexico
EUROPE: Iceland, Britain, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey.
In the U.S.:
ALABAMA: Anniston, Calera, Jacksonville, Hoover, Huntsville, Montgomery, Oneonta
ALASKA: Anchorage, Homer, Juneau
ARIZONA: Phoenix, Show Low, Tempe, Tucson, Window Rock, Winslow
ARKANSAS: Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Little Rock
CALIFORNIA: Alameda, Altadena, Belmont, Bishop, Brentwood, Capistrano Beach, Castro Valley, Clayton, Cloverdale, Corona, Costa Mesa, Cupertino, Davis, Eagle Rock, El Centro, Encinitas, Eureka, Fairfax, Fallbrook, Fresno, Hollister, Hollywood,Huntington Beach, Idylwild, Irvine, La Canada, Lafayette, Livermore, Loomis, Los Angeles, Mill Valley, Napa, Oakland, Oxnard, Pacific Palisades, Pacifica, Palm Springs, Palo Alto, Pasadena, Piedmont, Placerville, Pleasanton, Redding, Redlands, Reedley, Riverside, Rohnert Park, San Bruno, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clarita, Santa Cruz, Santee, Sausalito, Sonora, Susanville, Thousand Oaks, Valencia, Ventura, Walnut Creek, West Hollywood, Willits
COLORADO: Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, Evergreen, Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Longmont, Lyons, Niwot, Paonia, Steamboat Springs
CONNECTICUT: Hartford, Madison, New Haven, Norwalk, Shelton, West Hartford
DELAWARE: Lewes, Odessa, Rehoboth Beach, Wilmington
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Washington, D.C.
FLORIDA: Altoona, Bunnell, Fort Myers, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Lake Worth Beach, Lakeland,Marina, Melbourne, Miami, Naples, Niceville, Orlando, Pensacola, Sanford, Sarasota, St. Augustine, St. Petersburg, Sunrise, Tallahassee, Tampa, Vero Beach
GEORGIA: Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Gainesville, Milledgeville, Savannah, St. Simons, Stone Mountain
HAWAII: Hilo, Honolulu, Kahului, Pahoa
IDAHO: Boise, Ketchum, Pocatello, Sandpoint
ILLINOIS: Arlington Heights, Canton, Carbondale, Champaign, Chicago, Evanston, Glen Ellyn, Kankakee, Macomb, Morton, Mt. Prospect, Naperville, Oak Park, Olney, Palatine, Park Ridge, Rockford, Schaumburg, Springfield
INDIANA: Bloomington, Cromwell, Ft. Wayne, Gary, Granger, Goshen, Indianapolis, Mishawaka, Muncie, North Manchester, Terre Haute
IOWA: Ames, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque, Iowa City, West Union
KANSAS: Hutchinson, Kansas City, Manhattan, Olathe, Ottawa, Pittsburg, Salina, Wichita
KENTUCKY: Bowling Green, Lexington, Louisville, Paducah
LOUISIANA: Baton Rouge, Keithville, Lake Charles, New Orleans, Thibodaux
MAINE: Augusta, Brooksville, Portland
MARYLAND: Baltimore, Columbia, Darnestown, Mount Rainier, Olney, Rockville, Silver Spring, Takoma Park
MASSACHUSETTS: Abington, Amherst, Andover, Arlington, Boston, Brimfield, Connecticut Valley, Duxbury, Fall River, Falmouth, Hyannis, Jamaica Plain, Monson, Montague, Natick, Newton, Northampton, Norton, Spencer, Stoneham, Stow, Sudbury, Vineyard Haven, Wendell, Waltham, Wenham, Worcester
MICHIGAN: Adrian, Ann Arbor, Big Rapids, Chelsea, Detroit, East Lansing, Ferndale, Flint, Fremont, Grand Rapids, Holland, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Livonia, Marquette, Midland, Monroe, Montague, Muskegon, Owosso, Pinckney, Port Huron, Prudenville, Redford, Saranac, Traverse City
MINNESOTA: Alexandria, Bemidji, Burnsville, Hibbing, Lake Crystal, Lino Lakes, Litchfield, Little Falls, Marshall, Minneapolis, Montevideo, Red Wing, Shoreview, St. Cloud, St. Paul
MISSISSIPPI: Biloxi, Jackson, Jonestown, Oxford, Starkville, Tupelo
MISSOURI: Camdenton, Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Kansas City, Lake St. Louis, Osage Beach, Springfield, St. Louis
MONTANA: Bozeman, Dutton, Great Falls, Helena, Kalispell, Missoula, Whitefish
NEBRASKA: Belgrade, Gothenburg, Grand Island, Hastings, Lincoln, Omaha
NEVADA: Las Vegas, Reno
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Concord, Keene, Milford, Plymouth, Wakefield, Walpole
NEW JERSEY: Atlantic City, Cedar Grove, Cherry Hill, Englewood, Hackensack, Hackettstown, Highland Park, Lambertville, Maplewood, Marlton, Merchantville, Montclair, Moorestown, Ocean Gate, Stirling, Woodstown
NEW MEXICO: Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Rinconada, Santa Fe, Silver City, Taos, Truth or Consequences
NEW YORK: Albany, Bay Shore, Binghamton, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Cooperstown, Coram, Elmira, Farmingdale, Flushing, Garden City, Greenport, Ithaca, Johnson City, Liberty, New Hartford, New Paltz, New York, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Sarasota Springs, Saugerties, Schenectady, Setauket, Southampton, Staten Island, Stony Brook, Syracuse, Troy, Utica, Wading River, Watertown, Woodstock, Yonkers
NORTH CAROLINA: Asheville, Belhaven, Boone, Burnsville, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Charlottesville, Columbus, Cullowhee, Fayetteville, Fletcher, Raleigh, Shelby, Wilmington
NORTH DAKOTA: Fargo, Minot
OHIO: Akron, Cambridge, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Columbus, Dayton, Delaware, Jefferson, Kent, Lima, Medina, Oberlin, Reynoldsburg, Sandusky, Springfield, Tiffin, Toledo, Westerville, Youngstown
OKLAHOMA: Norman, Oklahoma City, Tulsa
OREGON: Albany, Bend, Corvallis, Cottage Grove, Enterprise, Eugene, Lincoln City, Manzanita, Medford, Portland, Salem, The Dalles
PENNSYLVANIA: Bally, Beaver, Bellefonte, Bethlehem, Bryn Athyn, Chambersburg, Coatesville, Harrisburg, Hatfield, Honesdale, Huntingdon, Jenkintown, Jim Thorpe, Kutztown, Lancaster, Lansdowne, Lewisburg, Middleburg, Nazareth, Norristown, Pennsburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Squirrel Hill, St. Davids, State College, Valley Forge, Warminster, Wellsboro, West Chester, Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport, Worcester, Wynnewood, York
RHODE ISLAND: Newport, Providence
SOUTH CAROLINA: Anderson, Charleston, Greenville, Myrtle Beach
SOUTH DAKOTA: Sioux Falls,Spearfish
TENNESSEE: Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, Mountain City, Nashville, Sevierville
TEXAS: Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont, Bellarie, Brownsville, Cameron, Cedar Park, Colleyville, Comfort, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Ft. Worth, Granburgy, Houston, McAllen, San Antonio, Wichita Falls
UTAH: Logan, Salt Lake City
VERMONT: Barre, Bristol, Burlington, Manchester, Newport, Richmond, Rutland, Williston
VIRGINIA: Abingdon, Arlington, Augusta, Blacksburg, Chantilly, Charlottesville, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg, Leesburg, Norfolk, Richmond, Staunton, Williamsburg
WASHINGTON: Anacortes, Bremerton, Edwards, Gig Harbor, Lacey, Langley, Longview, Lopez Village, Olympia, Port Angeles, Port Orchard, Redmond, Seattle, Spokane, Suquamish, Swinomish Reservation, Tacoma, Vancouver, Wenatchee
WEST VIRGINIA: Charleston, Clarksburg, Martinsburg, Parkersburg, Wheeling
WISCONSIN: Algoma, Appleton, Beloit, Brookfield, Burlington, Cable, De Pere, Fish Creek, Hayward, Janesville, Kenosha, Madison, Marshfield, Menomonie, Milwaukee, Minocqua, Monona, Port Washington, Racine, Rice Lake, Ripon, Sheboygan, St. Croix Falls, Superior, Viroqua, Waukesha, Wausau, West Allis
WYOMING: Casper, Cheyenne, Lander, Laramie, Sheridan
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What you Need to know for March 19--logistics, schedule, etc.
***Cultural Events
Don't miss these exciting cultural events this weekend in NYC:
*Friday March 18th. . . Hip Hop concert at the Oberia Dempsey Center at 127, 127th Street in Harlem from 7pm to 12 midnight. Featuring Nana Soul, Hicoup and Haasan, Mental Notes, Afi, Bomani, Head Roc, Verses, Komplex, and Tylibah. $10 suggested donation....BENEFIT FOR THE TROOPS OUT NOW COALITION!
*Saturday March 19th. . . Troops Out Now Reception (After the rally)- 5 to 9 pm, The New School, 55 West 13th Street (between 5th and 6th Aves), Featuring Jazz Pianist and Composer, Consuela Lee; Social Justice Singer/Activist Pam Parker; Black Waxx Recording Artist Nana Soul; Spirit Child and Kahlil Khan of the Artist and Activist Collective Movement in Motion and many more. . . Free of charge!
*The Troops Out Now CD. . . is available from Black Waxx-- If you get only one CD this year... Troop Out Now should be it! This CD was produced to help get information to the public about the Iraq War and inspire people to take action. It features artists that will probably never be heard on the radio because of censorship! The music is phenomenal... The commentary thought provoking and informative. You will never find anything else like it. For more information on how to get your copy today contact us at info@blackwaxx.com
http://blackwaxx.com
***Marcus Garvey Park
10:00 AM - 124th St & 5th Ave. March to to 125th St Military Recruiting Station and then to Central Park
Marcus Garvey Park is one of the oldest public squares in Manhattan. Central to the life of Harlem for more than 150 years the park was renamed by the City Council in honor of the Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey in 1973.
The park located in East Harlem at 5th Ave. between 120th and 124th Streets, makes it an ideal gathering place for a march down 5th Ave.
BUS DROP-OFF: Mount Morris Park Drive West, between
120th and 124th Streets
***Central Park - East Meadow
12:00 Noon - 97 & 5th Ave
The East Meadow is an open area in Central Park just off 5th Avenue between 97th and 100th Streets.
Enter the East Meadow from Park Drive East. Enter the park from the East side at 102nd Street or 90th Street
BUS DROP-OFF: 5th Avenue above 102nd St.
***March to Mayor Bloomberg's House
3:00 PM - March to Mayor Bloomberg House - Demand FUND CITIES NOT WAR!
BUS PICK-UP: 5th Avenue south of 77th St.
***March Routes
The historic march from Marcus Garvey Park goes throught the heart of Harlem; past shops on 125th St., down the busy Malcolm X Blvd./Lenox Ave. and through East Harlem.
Exit Marcus Garvey Park at 124th St. and 5th Ave. east on 124th St. to Madison North on Madison to 125th St. West on the south side of 125th St. to rall at the Armed Forces Recruiting Center 76 W. 125th St. West on 125th to Malcolm X Blvd./Lenox Ave. South on Malcolm X Blvd./Lenox Ave. to 112th St. East on 112th St. to Park Ave. South on Park Ave to 102nd St. West on 102nd St to East Drive in Central Park South on East Drive to the East Meadow.
Exit the East Meadow south on East Drive to 90th St. Exit Central Park at 90th St. going East to Park Ave. South on Park Ave to 77th St. West on 77th St. to 5th Ave. North to demonstration on sidewalk of 5th Ave from 79th St. South
***Placards and Signs
New York City does not permit wooden, plastic or metal poles at marches or rallies. If you make a placard on a pole, make sure to use a cardboard tube for the pole.
***Park Rules
Glass beverage containers are not permitted in the park.
Alcoholic beverages are not permitted in the park.
Overnight camping is not permitted in the park.
***Literature Tables
Groups distributing literature should bring their own tables to set up.
Vendors wishing to sell items should bring their own tables, and make a $50 donation to the Troops Out Now Coalition. Please be aware of applicable Park rules.
***Directions
How to get to Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem
Marcus Garvey Park is between 120th and 124th Street at 5th Ave.
From the west side
Take the 2 or 3 train to 125th Street. Walk south on Lenox Ave one block to 124th St. then turn left and walk ½ block to Marcus Garvey Park. From the east side
Take the M1 bus to 120th St.
Take the 4, 5, or 6 train to 125th Street. Walk west on 125th St. (or hop on a cross town bus) to 5th Ave. turn left on 5th Ave. and go one block to Marcus Garvey Park.
From Westchester and Connecticut
Take Metro North to 125th Street stop. Walk west on
125th St. to 5th Ave. turn left on 5th Ave. and go one block to Marcus Garvey Park. Alternatively, take the Metro North train to Grand Central Terminal and take the 4, 5, or 6 train uptown (see above).
From New Jersey
Take the PATH train into Manhattan or take a bus to the 42nd St. Bus terminal, then walk to 7th Ave and take the 2 or 3 train uptown. Follow the directions from the west side above.
Take a bus to the George Washington Bus terminal. Take the A train downtown to 125th Street then take a cross town bus to 5th Ave. Walk south 1 block on 5th Ave to Marcus Garvey Park. Driving
If you need directions you should not be driving in NYC. Park at a Metro North or Long Island Railroad and follow the appropriate directions above.
How to get to the East Meadow in Central Park
Note: The police may restrict access to the park on the day of the event. We will post whatever information on access restrictions we have, when it is available.
From the west side
Take the B or C train to 96th Street and Central Park West. Enter the park just north of 97th and walk east until you reach the East Meadow.
Take the M96 or M106 bus from 96th Street on the west side to the Fifth Ave. stop then walk to the 102nd or
90th Street entrance to the park and walk to the East Meadow
From the east side
Take the 6 train to 103rd Street and Lexington Ave. Walk west along 103rd to 5th Ave. then turn left and walk down to 102nd St. Enter the park at 102nd St. and follow the roadway to the East Meadow.
Enter the park at 90th Street and follow the East Drive north to the East Meadow
Take the M1, M2, M3 or M5 bus to 5th Ave and 102nd St. Enter the park at 102nd St. and follow the roadway to the East Meadow.
From Westchester and Connecticut
Take the Metro North train to Grand Central Terminal and take the 4, 5, or 6 train uptown (see above).
From New Jersey
Take the PATH train into Manhattan or take a bus to the 42nd St. Bus terminal, then walk to 7th Ave and take the 2 or 3 train uptown. Follow the directions from the west side above.
Take a bus to the George Washington Bus terminal. Take the A train downtown to 125th Street then transfer to a downtown C train. Follow the directions from the west side above.
***Driving
If you need directions you should not drive into Manhattan. Park at a Metro North or Long Island Railroad and follow the appropriate directions above.
http://www.TroopsOutNow.org