Grand Rapids, MI: Grassroots coalition to join major protest at Republican National Convention

Grand Rapids, MI – In response to the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC), a coalition of grassroots organizations is mobilizing Michigan residents for a march in Milwaukee on July 15 to protest the RNC.

“We are going to be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at 10 a.m. on Monday, July 15, to let the Republicans know that we oppose their racist and reactionary agenda. We oppose Trump and his attack on immigrants, workers, LGBT folks, women, bodily autonomy and reproductive rights. We are going to march with families and with joy for our own agenda, the people’s agenda, in the streets of Milwaukee and let the Republicans know that we are going to resist them every step of the way and we are going to shut them down if Trump is elected,” said Tom Burke from the Coalition to March on the RNC.

The march is organized by the national Coalition to March on the RNC, composed of grassroots groups and unions from across the country united to stop the Republicans’ racist and reactionary agenda, defend reproductive rights, and demand peace, justice and equity. 

Michigan member organizations of this national effort include Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids, the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, Students for a Democratic Society, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization. 

The groups highlighted the Republicans’ long history of threatening civil rights. “Take 2019, for example, when a majority of Republican lawmakers refused to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, legislation aimed at protecting women. We continue to see constant attacks on LGBTQ individuals and reproductive rights by Republicans. That’s why we’re going to Milwaukee, to demand equal treatment for women and LGBTQ rights, and access to reproductive healthcare,” said Jessie Pichta from Students for a Democratic Society.

The groups also addressed the threat Republicans pose to democracy and voting rights. A member of the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression stated, “one of the Republicans’ key strategies is voter suppression. After the past election, several states passed legislation that made it more difficult to vote. For example, Georgia now has stricter voter laws, which disproportionately affect communities at the margins. We have also seen an increase in crackdowns on protests and political dissent. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 1 into law in 2021, which aims to suppress protests while granting civil immunity to drivers who run over protesters.”

Michigan Republicans were also specifically called out. “In 2008, it was the Republican Michigan attorney general who issued the memo that terminated access to driver’s licenses for all Michiganders, regardless of their citizenship status. Since then – for over 15 years – tens of thousands of Michigan families and workers have been unjustly excluded from access to driver’s licenses and live in fear of having their families separated anytime the police perform a traffic stop.” said Danny Celaya from Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids. 

Celaya continued, “Then of course, we cannot forget about how Republicans such as Nikki Haley and Donald Trump have been candid over their support of the genocide happening in Palestine. We need to oppose their violent remarks and continue to stand with Palestine.” In May, Nikki Haley made news after she was photographed signing an Israeli artillery shell with the words “Finish them.” Then during the June 27 presidential debates, Donald Trump voiced his support for Israel to “finish the job.”

The march has faced pushback by Milwaukee city officials and the Secret Service. Burke explained, “We are demanding our permits from the city of Milwaukee and the Secret Service who don’t want us to express our free speech rights. They don’t want us to march to the doors of the Fiserv auditorium where the Republicans will be meeting. That is exactly our plan. We’re going to have all sorts of people, from all walks of life together, thousands of us raising our voices against the Republicans and their backwards agenda.”

#GrandRapidsMI #MarchOnTheRNC #FreePalestine #PalestineSolidarity #SDS #GRAARPR