As part of Amnesty International USA’s Human Rights Conference and Annual General Meeting (AGM), AIUSA organized a rally to ring the alarm bells on authoritarian practices.
Hundreds of members, staff and supporters boarded buses and headed to the front of the Washington Monument.
Why We Protested
As Amnesty International has reported, the United States of America is showing a recognizable pattern of authoritarian practices and erosion of human rights that the organization has documented for decades across countries worldwide, including:
- Targeting freedom of the press and access to information
- Targeting freedom of expression and assembly
- Targeting civil society and universities
- Targeting political opponents and critics
- Targeting judges, lawyers, and the legal system
- Undermining due process
- Attacking refugee and migrant rights
- Scapegoating populations and rolling back non-discrimination policies
- Using the military for domestic purposes and militarizing law enforcement
- Dismantling checks on corporate accountability and anti-corruption measures
- Increasing mass surveillance
- Undermining international systems designed to protect human rights
THE CALL
Armed with signs bearing messages such as “Stop the Mass Deportation Machine,” “Peaceful Protest is a Human Right,” and “Respect the Rule of Law,” activists gathered at the Washington Monument and made themselves heard by ringing bright yellow bells, a stark warning that authoritarian practices are currently at play.
As activists gathered, AIUSA’s then and now former Executive Director Paul O’Brien asked the crowd a series of questions centered around the 12 alarm bells outlined in our report on the rising authoritarian practices in the U.S.
“Do you think it’s normal that they have spent a year targeting freedom of the press and access to information? Do you think it’s normal that they are targeting freedom of expression every chance they get? Do you think it’s normal that they are targeting civil society and universities every chance they get?”
—Paul O’Brien
After each question, activists rang their yellow bells and shouted “no!”
“We are not going to let this become normal. That’s why we’re ringing the alarm bells. Because…we are going to get more and more people to understand that this is not okay…The reason it is so important that you took the time this weekend and this afternoon to be here is that we can’t let this be normal in ourselves.”
—Paul O’Brien
Amy Fischer, AIUSA’s Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights, also spoke to the crowd, describing the harmful actions of ICE and demanding that Congress act.
“The voices of communities and the voices of the street are loud and clear and unequivocal. We need to cut funds to ICE and CBP. To claw back the money that was sent to them this summer. And reinvest in healthcare and housing. We have to make changes to ICE to stop the violence now. No more deaths at the hands of ICE. No more facilities, no more cages, no more warehouses where they contain our neighbors and our friends so that they can torture them and force them to self-deport.
But we are here, and we are loud, and Congress is right behind us, and they’re listening to us. We’re gonna keep telling them, not another nickel, not another dime, not another dollar for these agencies that continue to violate our rights.”
—Amy Fischer
Bethany Criss, AIUSA Chief Movement Building & Member Engagement Officer, closed out the demonstration with words of encouragement and hope.
“I know that with every single action we take, with every letter that we write, every conversation that we have, every single protest, every single demonstration, every whistle blown, every bell rung, we are weakening that [authoritarian] playbook. We are weakening that machine. That is you, that is me, that is everybody around this nation that calls this place home because this is our land, and they will not take it away from us. Don’t ever forget. You are the people. You are the movement. You are fighting.”
—Bethany Criss
To end the demonstration, staff members unrolled a bright yellow banner reading “Ringing the Alarm Bells on Authoritarian Practices,” leaving activists with a sense of energy and collective strength.
“I enjoyed going to the Washington Monument grounds with our signs. Special thanks to whoever thought of turning towards the Capitol Building and shouting, “Do your job!”
—Wayles Browne, Group 73 Treasurer (Ithaca, NY)
Coming together in Washington D.C. near the U.S. Capitol with Amnesty International staff and members from across the country was a powerful show of people with shared beliefs who refuse to stay silent in the face of rising authoritarian practices and human rights violations.
As the rally ended, activists boarded the buses back to the AGM venue, but alarm bells continued to ring throughout the weekend, connecting us all together in solidarity.
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