 September/October 2000 (XXXVIII 4) |
he demonstrations at the time of the Republican National Convention provided Friends with the opportunity for both prophetic advocacy and reconciling service.
The event that probably drew the most Friends was the July 30 pre-convention rally entitled Unity2000. Planning had been done by a consortium of labor, religious, and activist groups in the city. It was Unity2000 that labored with the city, with help from the American Civil Liberties Union, to assure a large, safe area for the demonstration. Members of Monthly Meetings and PYM groups, notably Abolition 2000 and some Young Friends, prepared for this day by meeting together, gathering for worship at Central Philadelphia Meeting and then walking together down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The rally was marked by puppets, a few politically savvy clowns, and other creative ways of expressing concerns about world peace, criminal justice, and poverty, class and race issues.
During convention week, the American Friends Service Committee co-hosted a forum on Economic Injustice and Reproductive Freedom, and a daily vigil on ending economic sanctions against Iraq, and co-sponsored the "Silent March" for gun control. The Interfaith Coalition Against the Death Penalty convened an assembly in the Friends Center meetinghouse.
In advance of the convention, many wanted to create a climate that would allow peaceful protest, and not replicate the trouble in Seattle last fall. To assure a common expectation of "nonviolent protest," nonviolence training was offered to activists by Training for Change (a program directed by Friend George Lakey) with support and sponsorship from Friends Conflict Resolution Programs of PYM.
Along with the concern to respect the "nonviolent" aspect of protest was the concern for people caught up in the protests who might find themselves in difficult circumstances or in need of a period of respite. Friends Center Executive Director Peter Rittenhouse called together representatives from AFSC, PYM, Quaker Information Center and Central Philadelphia Meeting. Based on recommendations from this group, the Friends Center Board agreed that Friends Center should be ready as a place of sanctuary.
Volunteers were arranged to serve in shifts, including some who could serve as counselors, if needed. Light refreshments and pitchers of ice water were prepared. A statement to the press was composed. Materials explaining Friends Center expectations and protocol were prepared. Care was taken to maintain the safety and privacy of the childcare center and staff offices. In response to a request from the organizers of the protests, a building owned by Friends Center at 1524 Race Street was made available for their use as a first aid station. An outdoor decontamination center was set up in case of tear gas or pepper spray, but fortunately it was not needed. The planning process was guided by considerations of what was an appropriate response of Friends to a situation within the city which could become violent.
On Tuesday, August 1, the day when hundreds of demonstrators were arrested, many demonstrators came in to Friends Center to use the rest rooms or for cold drinks. The organizers of sanctuary at Friends Center stayed in touch with the police officers who had the building under surveillance and, at one point, took them cold drinks. Late in the day we had word that the “black bloc,” demonstrators dressed in black and not committed to nonviolence, were headed our way with bicycle police in pursuit. The black bloc demonstrators lined up on the steps outside Friends Center; the police lined up outside our property line. They stood there for a while and had some verbal exchanges, and then they all dispersed. No one came into Friends Center, but our steps provided a venue for a verbal exchange instead of a physical one.
As the convention ended, Friends were faced with a new call to service. Many demonstrators, mainly young people, remained in town in solidarity with their jailed friends and set up a tent city in Franklin Square across from the Police Administration Building to hold vigil. After two days the police informed the vigilers that if they stayed in the square another night they would be arrested. A representative of the ACLU phoned Friends Center and asked if we would allow the demonstrators to stay overnight. After much consultation and rounding up of volunteers from Central Philadelphia Meeting and AFSC staff, Friends Center agreed to take them in for the night of August 3.
This decision was guided by a desire to contribute to the lessening of tensions between police and demonstrators (by getting the demonstrators off the street at night) and providing the possibility for all parties to have some rest. Friends Center representatives spoke with police civil affairs officers about what we were doing and why.
That overnight hospitality at Friends Center was extended day by day for eight nights. Protesters not arrested often had connections with those arrested — housing, transportation, family — and could not easily leave the city. One room at Friends Center served as a communications center for scheduling volunteers to keep vigil outside various jails and to provide transportation from the jails back to center city. Before the week was out, anxious parents of those jailed began to arrive in town. They organized a parents support group at Friends Center and met with a counselor from the Friends Counseling Service.
As the numbers dwindled and life returned to normal, Friends Center and the committee that worked with the director were grateful to the more than 75 staff and volunteers who served willingly — counseling, directing, serving food, and being present with visitors who sometimes were quite frightened. Those who had been integral to the effort had a deep sense of it being spirit-led and that it had been an opportunity to witness to Friends beliefs. The cooperation of Central Philadelphia Meeting, AFSC and PYM, with long hours of support from the staff of Friends Center, had made possible an appropriate response to the events of those two weeks.
Joan Broadfield, Patricia McBee and Arlene Kelly contributed to this article.
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:19 AM