Sunday, July 25: National March on the DNC

Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner, Famni Lavalas, USWA
Local 8751-Boston School Bus Drivers Union

Protest the Pro-War stance of the Democrats:
Sunday, July 25
Rally 12 noon
Boston Common
(Charles & Beacon St)

March on the DNC!
Sunday, July 25
call the 617-522-6626
www.iacboston for more information

While permits have been granted for the Boston Common rally, the Boston Police Department and the City of Boston have refused to allow demonstrators access to Causeway St., where the Fleet Center is located.

Instead, officials have announced plans to set up a "protest area" which is in reality a piece of asphalt surrounded by a 12-foot-high fence.

The Coalition to Protest the DNC, initiated by ANSWER Boston and whose members include, Boston City Councilor, Chuck Turner; Union of Minority Neighborhoods; New England Human Rights Organization for Haiti; USWA L. 8751, Boston School Bus Drivers; Greater Roxbury Workers Association; Chelsea Uniting Against the War; Women's Fightback network, the International Action Center and the Stonewall Warriors will be filing a lawsuit against the City Boston demanding our right to march down Causeway St. past the Fleet Center. The legal team, which includes, lead counsel John Pavlos and attorneys from the ACLU expect to file the lawsuit in Federal Court on Monday, July 19 at 4:00pm.

At the same time that the suit is filed, the Coalition will hold a press conference. We ask that everyone show up at the Moakley Federal Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Way (on the waterfront) at 4:00pm.

We will not allow our rights to be taken away so that the Democratic Party can have unrestricted access to our city for their posh parties and convention, which are costing almost $100 million. We will bring the message to this convention loud and clear: Bring the troops home now!

The next planning meeting for the July 25 March on the DNC will be 6:00pm Tuesday, July 20 at the offices of USWA L. 8751, 25 Colgate Rd, Roslindale.

This is the final Coalition meeting before July 25. There is a lot that needs to be done over the next few days to prepare - work sessions for placard making, flyer distributions, phone calls, volunteers, etc. We need your HELP! Please come to the meeting and find out how you can get involved in this important demonstration. If you are unable to attend please call the office and let them know what days and times you are available to volunteer.

With less than a week until the demonstration the office is hopping! This past Saturday approximately 20 people (from Boston, NY & NC) including a sound van went through the streets of Boston handing out flyers and holding impromptu street meetings. The response was overwhelmingly in favor of July 25! We need as many people as possible to go out each and everyday, throughout the communities of Boston to distribute literature and talk to people about the importance of July 25. Call or email if you are able to help.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters
Chuck Turner, Boston City Council*
Clarence Thomas, Exec Board, ILWU L. 10, Million Worker March*
Horace Small, Union of Minority Neighborhoods
Fanmi Lavalas*
New England Human Rights Organization for Haiti
Brenda Stokely, Pres. AFSCME 1707
Margaret Prescod, Women's Global Strike*
Mahtowin, United American Indians of New England
Jorge Marin, MLK Bolivarian Circle*
Teresa Gutierrez, National Committee to Free the Cuban 5*
Taped Statement from Mumia Abu-Jamal, Death Row Inmate
Jorge Zamora, Colombian Community Activist, Delegate to the recent International Caravan to Save the Lives of Colombian Workers
Brother Lo, Greater Roxbury Workers Association
Minister Don Muhammad, Nation of Islam*
Steve Gillis, Pres. USWA L. 8751, Boston School Bus Drivers
Dustin Langley, Support Network for an Armed Forces Union (SNAFU)
Larry Holmes, International Action Center
Women's Fightback Network
Stonewall Warriors

Dozens of volunteers will be needed on July 25 to help with setup, security, bus greeting, tabling, etc. If you are able to help out please email or call the office - info@answerboston.org , 617-522-6626.

Tell everyone you know about the July 25 March on the DNC to demand "Bring the Troops Home Now! End the Colonial Occupation of Iraq, Palestine & Haiti, Money for AIDs, Jobs, Housing, Healthcare & Education not Racism, War & Occupation!"

Flyers are available at the office in English, Spanish & Creole or they can be downloaded at http://www.answerboston.org

Sunday, July 25, 2004
National March on the DNC
12 noon - Boston Common Parade Grounds

* Bring the Troops Home Now!
* End the Colonial Occupation of Iraq, Palestine & Haiti!
* $$ for AIDS, Jobs, Housing, Education & Healthcare, Not
the Pentagon War Machine!

With slightly more than 1 week until the start of the DNC,
activists from throughout the East Coast and elsewhere are
mobilizing to come to Boston and crash the Democrats
carefuly scripted party.

* Sat. July 17 there will be a major flyer distribution.
Meet at the ANSWER office at 10:30 am and join one of the
many leafletting squads that will distribute throughout
Boston, Cambridge and the surrounding communities.

* Attend the final planning meeting - 6:00pm, Tuesday,
July 20 at the USWA L. 8751, 25 Colgate Rd., Roslindale.

* We need volunteers to help make a final push prior to
July 25. Please contact the office if you have any time
available to help handout flyers, make phone calls, answer
phones, etc.

* Dozens of volunteers will be needed on July 25 to help
with security, tabling, banners, etc. Please contact us
if you are interested in helping -
info@answerboston.org.

* Stop by the office and pick up flyers or download them
from http://www.answerboston.org and hand them out in your
neighborhood, workplace, local T stop or school.

* Participate in any of the work sessions that will take
place during the week of July 18 at the ANSWER office to
prepare banners, placards, etc for July 25. Please refer
to the Action Calendar -
http://www.answerboston.org/cgi- bin/calendar/calendar.pl?dept=ANSWER for
the schedule or call the office.

* FUNDS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED! Unfortunately, organizing
national demonstrations require money for flyers, phones,
placards, banners, sound, vehicles, etc. Please help by
making a contribution, large or small. Checks should be
made payable to "ANSWER Boston" and mailed to ANSWER
Boston, 284 Amory St., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130.

If you have time and can help please call the office at
617-522-6626 or e-mail us at info@answerboston.org.

Please consider making a donation to ANSWER Boston to help cover the ever increasing costs for office supplies, rent, telephones, buses, printing, etc. We need your help so that we can continue the struggle against imperialist wars abroad and attacks on our communities here at home.

Iraq War Crimes Tribunal
Thursday, August 26
call 212-633-6646 for more information

Join us in Boston to say NO to the Police State

The People will not be silenced! The Police State has come to Boston.

In an attempt to intimidate protest and silence dissent, the Boston Police, in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security, is imposing unprecedented police state measures:

**City Bus Drivers were given mandatory "anti-terror" training. They were shown films to help them identify "terrorists." The people shown in the film were not terrorists--they were ANSWER activists. Bus Drivers have been ordered not to allow anyone on the bus carrying political signs. Peaceful protest has now been officially designated as "terrorism" by the government.

**More than 75 high tech cameras hav been placed throughout the city, with instant links to "monitoring stations. From these stations, Federal Agents can zoom in on facial characteristics and license plates. The surveillance of political activity without probable cause, which has been determined to be illegal and unconstitutional, is designed to intimidate and harass protestors.

**The Boston Police has announced plans for the round-up, mass arrest, and detention of political dissenters during the DNC.

We must take a stand against the Police State in Boston.

How You Can Help:

*Call, write, and fax the following. Tell them we will not tolerate their war on civil liberties:

Thomas Menino-- Mayor of Boston-- mayor@ci.boston.ma.us fax: 617-635-3416, phone: 617-635-4500

Department of Homeland Security-- phone: 202-282-8600

John Kerry Campaign-- info@johnkerry.com fax: 202-712-3001, phone: 202-712-3000

Boston Police Boston Police Superintendent Robert Dunford-- Fax: 617 343 4481, Phone: 617 343 4200

*The best way to defeat the Department of Homeland Security/Boston Police attempt to silence dissent is to show up in massive numbers on the streets of Boston. Let them know that we will NOT be intimidated.

Join us on the streets on Sunday, July 25 to Rally and March on the Democratic National Convention to kick off a week of protest and resistance against the warmakers. We will rally on Boston Common and march to the Fleet Center, site of the DNC.

For more information, call ANSWER Boston at 617-522-6626

Anti-War Coalition to File Lawsuit against City of Boston- Demands the Right to Protest during the DNC

Mon, 19 Jul 2004--The Coalition to Protest the DNC, initiated by ANSWER Boston, will file suit in Federal Court against the City of Boston over its refusal to allow protests at the site of the Democratic National Convention.

The legal team, which includes lead counsel John Pavlos and attorneys from the ACLU, expect to file the lawsuit in Federal Court on Monday, July 19 at 4:00pm at which time a press conference will be held.

The suit will demand the right to peacefully march down Causeway Street, in front of the Fleet Center, where the DNC will be held. Members of the Coalition have been granted a permit to hold a rally at the Boston Common Parade Grounds on Sunday, July 25 at noon, but so far have been denied a permit to march down Causeway St. Instead, officials have announced plans to set up a “protest area” which is in reality a piece of asphalt surrounded by a 12-foot-high fence.

According to Maureen Skehan, an organizer for ANSWER, “We will not allow our rights to be taken away so that the Democratic Party can have unrestricted access to our city for their posh parties and convention, which are costing almost $100 million. We will bring the message to this convention loud and clear: Bring the troops home now!”

Members of the Coalition include: Chuck Turner, Boston City Council; ANSWER Boston; The New England Human Rights Organization for Haiti; Union of Minority Neighborhoods; The MLK Bolivarian Circle; The Greater Roxbury Workers Association; USWA Local 8751, Boston School Bus Drivers; The International Action Center; Chelsea United Against the War; The Women’s Fightback Network and the Stonewall Warriors.

The National March on the DNC will be held 12 noon on Sunday, July 25 at the Boston Common Parade Grounds. The demonstration initiated by ANSWER will demand; Bring the Troops Home Now. End the Colonial Occupation of Iraq, Palestine & Haiti. Money for AIDS, Jobs, Housing, Education, and Healthcare. Buses are being organized from all over the Eastern U.S. to bring activists to the protest.

We oppose all protest pens in any form whatsoever. We are not interested in their shape, size, cleanliness, or construction specifications. We will not be caged in.

Protest pens in any incarnation are a violation of our first and fourteenth amendment rights.

The city of Boston cannot dictate certain zones as free speech zones; the first amendment applies everywhere.

Our demand for access to Causeway Street is not only for Sunday July 25th. The coalition intends to demonstrate all week, Sunday through Thursday. We have applied for permits for Causeway St. for the entire \week, July 25th – 29^th.

We resist the oppressive police state tactics in all their forms, including but not limited to:

   o The use of protest pens and police barricades to limit freedom of
assembly.
   o The excessive use of all types of surveillance equipment
constituting unreasonable searches.
   o The attempts by Homeland Security to force the MBTA workers to act
as police, to prevent political dissenters from using city public
transportation.
   o The seizure of public space and institutions for the use of the
police state, including but not limited to Bunker Hill Community
College.

The Coalition to Protest the Democratic National Convention:
A.N.S.W.E.R. Boston
USWA Local 8751
New England Human Rights Organization for Haiti
Women’s Fightback Network
International Action Center
Chuck Turner
Felix Arroyo
Union of Minority Neighborhoods
Greater Roxbury Workers Association
Chelsea Uniting Against the War
Stonewall Warriors

Respectfully Submitted by the Legal Team representing the Coalition,

Joseph L. Kociubes
Neil G. McGaraghan
BINGHAM MCCUTCHEN LLP

John Reinstein
American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts

John McK. Pavlos,
Pavlos & Vitali