Erica L, Brooklyn, NY
We arrived to “ICE Out for Good” at Union Square an hour early to have a preparatory political discussion before the rally. Several hundred people gathered around us to listen, so we had to quickly pivot to addressing this wider-than-usual audience rather than having an internally-focused discussion.
When we talked about the need for centralized, democratically accountable leadership structures to organize a general strike, we got cheers and applause. This tactic immediately drew the best contacts in, such as one person who asked us how to get organized in front of everyone. Once we stopped speaking, the organizers suspiciously started the event on time, likely because the crowd thought we were the organizers! That and the low political level of the other speakers is proof of the gaping vacuum of leadership in this movement.
After that, we dispersed to have longer political discussions with those who listened to our rally. We sent pairs out in the crowd, which grew to five or ten thousand people. There were a lot of unorganized people open to our ideas: that to fight ICE and win, the only ingredient missing is organization. One person said she was already a fan of our articles and the podcast, and wanted to join!
As the rally ended, we pulled out a megaphone and led chants. A marching band eagerly accompanied us. “Fight ICE with a general strike, workers of the world unite!” and “the workers united will never be defeated” were popular.
