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   Vol.65/No.5            February 5, 2001 
 
 
Bush inauguration marked by protests; Florida march opposes voting rights abuse
 
BY MIKE ITALIE  
TALLAHASSEE, Florida--The fight against violations of the voting rights of Blacks, Haitian-Americans, and others in Florida during the November 7 presidential election was a central theme of a January 20 National Day of Outrage here, timed to coincide with the inauguration of George Bush as U.S. president.

The largely Black, working-class crowd, marched from the Tallahassee Civic Center to the State Capitol in order to focus attention on the unresolved violations of democratic rights. Many had been among the thousands who rallied here on March 7, 2000, to protest Florida governor John Ellis Bush's "One Florida Initiative" aimed at gutting affirmative action.

NAACP president Kweisi Mfume joined with other speakers in describing the election of George Bush as "illegitimate," but focused his remarks on the refusal of the Clinton administration to respond to concerns the civil rights organization began raising before election day.

Three days prior to the vote, Mfume said that the NAACP learned of thousands of calls being made around Florida urging a vote for Bush by people falsely claiming to represent the NAACP. By 2:00 p.m. on election day the NAACP had received 250 complaints from people in Florida concerning checkpoints set up by police near voting centers in Black neighborhoods, election officials turning registered voters away at the polls, and other violations.

Mfume said every time the NAACP presented this evidence to the Justice Department the administration "just looked the other way. Then three weeks after the election, the Justice Department sent two people to check the situation for the entire state of Florida, and they decided no further investigation was necessary." The NAACP has filed a lawsuit to press its case.

Some 1,500 people turned out for the protest, organized by the Coalition of Conscience, headed by Operation Push and Democratic Party politician Jesse Jackson. Widespread support for the Democratic Party was evident in the number of signs stating, "I've Been Bush-whacked," "Hail to the Thief," and "Gore/Lieberman."

The largest contingents were from the NAACP, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

Charles Brave, Jr., and Leonard Riley were among a dozen dockworkers and members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) from Charleston, South Carolina, who marched with their union banner. One year ago hundreds of dockworkers in Charleston protesting the use of nonunion labor were viciously attacked by the police

Brave explained that he is among 27 workers facing a civil suit filed by a dock company charging workers damaged its property during their resistance to the police attack. In addition, five workers are under indictment on "riot" charges. Their trial is expected to take place at the end of February. Messages of support and donations can be sent to: Dockworkers Defense Fund, 910 Morrison Dr., Charleston, S.C., 29403.

Mike Italie is a member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees Local 415 in Miami.  
 

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BY JANE LYONS  
WASHINGTON--Thousands rallied at six different sites along the route of George Bush's motorcade on the day of his inauguration as U.S. president January 20. The mostly youthful crowds carried signs and shouted slogans against the death penalty, police brutality, and destruction of environment, and in support of women's rights. Others carried signs and wore buttons reading "Hail to the Thief," referring to their belief that the Republican Party stole the election from Democrat Albert Gore.

There were contingents calling for an end to the U.S. Navy's use of the Puerto Rican Island of Vieques for bombing practice, in support of the Palestinian struggle, an end to sanctions against Iraq, and for U.S. troops to get out of Korea.

Tom Gillespie, a letter carrier from Virginia, came to the protest on his own and joined the largest of the rallies at 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. He saw a difference between Bush and Democrat Gore, who he said was "the lesser of two evils." Gillespie said he was mostly concerned about "union issues and staying out of other nations' affairs and not dictating how they should act, especially Cuba."

Jim Obanion, 29, from Chicago said he came "to raise a voice for reproductive rights and gay rights." Laurie Auld, a waitress and social worker from Pittsburgh, said, "I see no difference between the two. I came to support workers' rights and the rights of the poor. We need a livable wage."

At the other side of the city, some 1,000 demonstrators marched to the Supreme Court in a "shadow inauguration" to protest the disenfranchisement of African-American voters. Among the participants were protesters who came on eight buses from Detroit organized by the NAACP. Several hundred supporters of the National Organization for Women held signs at another site in support of abortion rights. NOW president Patricia Ireland also addressed a rally of 1,000 that focused on "election reforms," such as calling for the abolition of the Electoral College and changes in campaign financing.

A few hundred opponents of a woman's right to choose abortion, under the auspices of the Christian Defense Coalition, also demonstrated along the parade route. The January 20th weekend marked the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that decriminalized abortion. Prochoice activists organized early-morning clinic defense to keep Washington area clinics open in face of yearly attempts by rightists to prevent patient's access to them. Abortion rights opponents did not attempt to close any of the clinics this year.  
 
 
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