Leftist Groups Hold Post-Election Pro-Democratic Rallies at City Hall
Photo courtesy of Quinn Hoop
A rally was held outside City Hall in downtown Portland on Friday, November 9, 2024, hosted by several aligned anti-imperialist organizations. The organizations included the International Migrant Alliance, International Women's Alliance, Stop US-Led Wars, the International League of People's Struggle, Bayan USA, and a collection of Portland State University (PSU) and Lewis and Clark student groups. The event consisted of a series of speeches given by representatives of the organizations, interceded with group chants, and lasted from 4:00pm–5:30pm. Given its occurrence so shortly after the election, the protest had an anti-Trump sentiment to be sure, with regards to how a disastrous a Trump precedency had been for the organizations’ constituent. However, a continual emphasis of the organizers I spoke with was the fact that a Harris administration would not have provided all of the solutions to the problems their constituents face.
When asked why the events were held, and why Reedies should care about coming out to events, Cody Urban, of ILPS, told the Quest “it's important to be here because these are some of the darkest days that we've lived through in our lifetimes. But as I'm saying this, you can hear people chanting. People are agitated, people are courageous. It's an organized community that brings the most hope. . . . [to] Anyone who is feeling extra scared, extra depressed about the wounds [in our society] over the next four years: Being organized is one of the most hopeful, inspiring things you can do in order to change not just how you view the world. You can change the world itself.”
Perhaps the most powerful and passionate messaging that came out of the protest, within the context of the Reed Student Body, was from the representatives from PSU. Their words speak for themselves,
“We as student activists in the Imperial Core, know well that our universities are active participants in the scholasticide and genocide of that power.”
“Universities are an essential source of intellectual capital and specialized labor forces for the US Empire that is hell-bent on spending our tax money on weapons of war, imperialist plunder and genocide, and not on our own community.” With broadly anti-imperial intentions, They seek “to dismantle the university as an instrument to wear and to rebuild it as an instrument for the creation of all people’s liberation movements.”
They described the need to “[mobilize] for action to keep and make our school a genuine place of cultural learning and anti-military, to cut ties with genocidal warmongers like Boeing and Intel.”
In terms of how to apply this practically, they suggested, “Talk to other students in the rally, approach students in your classes, post flyers and group chats. Follow local events on campus that are part of larger movements at the university. Many students call this place home, and yet many do not feel welcome, and are shown by our administrations, by our government, that they are not. But there is always time to start something, join something. Many people do not feel empowered until they feel seen. You are in more company and more community than you realize. As students, we are a core and vital part of a whole of the university, but that whole is completed by staff and faculty, many of whom have struggled and fought alongside us, not admin and board members. As a collective, we are strong and we can organize to make our voices heard.”
Photo courtesy of Quinn Hoop
The protests were anti-Trump, to be sure, however many of the speakers very intentionally clarified that they were against any imperial or anti-democratic actions of the US government, including those committed by Democrats, specifically Biden and Harris. Urban explained, “We know what a Trump administration is going to mean, but. . . we [also] know what a Harris administration would have meant, because we saw it over the last four years: the political establishment has made it absolutely clear that it only serves the needs of big business, big banks, and war makers.”
In a similar vein, spokesperson Haven, from Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle, stated “I'm out here today because, after Trump won the presidency, it is increasingly clear that there is a turn towards fascism in this country. But no matter who the president is, it is true that this country is an imperialist entity that profits off of the exploitation and oppression of people all over the world, including people here in this country.”
The breadth of the groups represented at the protest was notable, and the fight against imperialism was interpreted through many movements, notably Palestine, the Philippines, and Kashmir. Much of what was discussed in the speeches was how the US government as a whole does not currently inspire confidence in the population because the population does not feel the government has its best interests in mind. Urban, in a speech for the crowd, described how “This is not just that Trump won, it's not that the Republicans won: it’s that the Democrats lost. Because they don’t speak to us, they had nothing for us.”
A representative from the International Women's Alliance, and from Half the Sky said the following on Trump winning the election, or more specifically, Democrats losing:
“[Trump] emboldens others to direct their fear at and attack LGBTQ+ people and women, just like we've already seen in many instances in the last few days. . . But we must remember that the Democrats don't offer women meaningful solutions either.” Particularly, they cited how “Democrats have failed to listen to their constituents” on issues such as taking steps to cease aid to Israel, to address the crisis of gender-affirming care and women's health, and migrant family rights.
The spokesperson from the International Women’s Alliance also discussed how positive action can be carried out, saying, “while it's okay if some of us carry fear and uncertainty, we must remember to direct that fear into building and organizing a militant women's struggle. Women are not just participants in the political process. We are the mothers and the leaders that will fight and will birth a new more just society for us. . . We call on women and gender-oppressed people to turn our fear into fights.”
Fighting was core to the messaging of all of these groups, however, the extent to which they called for revolutionary, militant, or even violent action, varied throughout the speeches. Portland has had a long past with violent and/or destructive protests responding to government abuses of power, particularly during the Black Lives Matter movement, and consequently against federal agents sent in by Trump in 2020. Because of this, businesses downtown near Pioneer Square began boarding up windows even before the election. Other professional news agencies interviewing the organizers of the event focused on the likelihood that these events would turn destructive. The organizers, for their part, did their best to assure the cameras that, although they did wish to rally the rage that people felt towards the violence enacted by state apparatuses, they wished to do so in a constructive manner.
Midway through the protest, an unknown driver passing by on SW 4th Ave shouted: “Do what you have to do, but don’t hurt the small Black businesses, okay?”
As I returned to Reed via the MAX (I had removed my Press Pass), a middle-aged white man on the train asked me if I had just come from the protest, adding that he was going to Pioneer Square later that night after “heading home to trade in my work clothes and backpack for fresh laundry and a bag of rocks.” He did not comment on why he felt these actions were necessary.
Police presence at the protest was noticeable, but not overwhelming. A group of perhaps 10 officers stood kitty-corner from City Hall on SW 4th and Jefferson, as well as SW 4th and Madison. Additionally, a group of bicycle-mounted officers waited out of sight of the main protest in an alcove of Terry Schrunk Plaza on Madison. At around 5:00pm, I noticed four figures on the roof of the Multnomah County Justice building, which was across Chapman Square from downtown. The building which houses the Portland Police Bureau's Central Precinct was closed to the public at the time. In comparison, a pro-Palestinian protest on Thursday evening at Pioneer Square, which drew a much smaller crowd, had perhaps twice as many officers present, including State Troopers.
The need for continued organization under a Trump presidency was strongly pressed in multiple speeches. Cody described why they were out in front of city hall, saying “We're here because we've seen a Trump presidency. We know [what] we're in for. We know about all of the Trump supporters who came out to do his deeds in the streets, we know that their violence is going to come back. We've seen it already, and we know it's just going to get worse. And that's terrifying. I know we're all terrified, but we've been terrified for a long time. I'll tell you what, in this city, we have never stopped coming out. So what are we gonna do over the next four years? We gotta do three really important things. 1) We gotta organize. 2) We gotta organize. And 3) while we’re at it, we damn well better organize!”
Cody noted that in a recent town hall, Trump said “the enemy within, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China, more dangerous than Russia, than all of those other countries.” Cody used this, saying “What Trump is saying there is he's admitted that the billionaire ruling class…they know that the only thing they have to fear is the people's movement. It is our movement. We have to take up the mantle of the enemies of the fascist state and fight back. We have to live up to that title, and to do that, you have to build a movement capable of rising up.”