‘Stop the Bombs Garland’ campaign film screening

Garland, TX – Two dozen people gathered on Sunday, August 24 for a community discussion and screening of Don’t Frack with Denton as part of DFW Anti-War Committee’s campaign to shut down the Repkon bomb factory in Garland, Texas.

This factory, located across the street from a high school football stadium in the middle of a working-class neighborhood, manufactures the MK-80 bomb series, which, according to Al Jazeera, are the primary aerial munitions used in the U.S./Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Don’t Frack with Denton was produced in 2017 by Garrett Graham and Candice Bernd to chronicle the wins and losses of the Frack Free Denton campaign, which sought to end hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” in the city limits of Denton, Texas. Organizers succeeded in winning the ban, but the state government retaliated by eliminating the ability to locally ban hydraulic fracturing.

“We screened Don’t Frack With Denton to spark tactical ideas for our organizing against Repkon, and on that score it was extremely successful,” said Jo Hargis, a co-coordinator for the DFW Anti-War Committee. “People from different movements, Frack Free Denton organizers, and members of the surrounding community shared their observations and insight, and we came out of the event with actionable steps for building community power to stop the bombs.”

Ella Haag, who lives in the neighborhood surrounding the Repkon facility, said, “Upon first learning about Repkon, my brain went completely silent. Not in a peaceful way, but like the calm before the storm. Ominous. Then, I felt rage and shame that this manufactured monstrosity was across the street all this time. I wanted to behave monstrously myself in response. The Stop the Bombs Garland campaign will be a way to funnel my rage and shame into something productive. I’m grateful to know others care so profoundly.”

Discussions ranged from the impact of canvassing extensively, how to communicate effectively with people who don’t already agree, lessons from the labor movement, the importance of bringing in families, and ways an electoral campaign can raise the profile of an issue even if the law is overturned, as it was in Denton. There was also interest in how the Frack Free Denton campaign escalated to direct action tactics after exhausting all legal remedies, which created buy-in from people disappointed by the failures of the legal system.

“It was really awesome to see local organizers making real strides on their campaign and to translate it back to our work in Garland,” said William Capper of DAWC and Jewish Voice for Peace. “Taking the time to get in community with Garland residents will be vital. Activists in Denton used performance art and music to connect with folks in a way that drew them into the campaign. Developing our own artistic approaches that highlight Repkon’s crimes in approachable ways will be instrumental in broadening our base.”

Reflecting on the importance of the event for the Stop the Bombs Garland campaign, Rick Majumdar with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “The documentary Don’t Frack with Denton and discussion on the topic afterwards was an enriching experience. It highlighted the importance of a campaign, and illuminated the path to achieve goals that are realizable. The main takeaways for myself were the size of the base the organizers were able to build over a course of five years, reaching out as many people as possible on a common unified struggle. It also showcased the shortcomings of the campaign in terms of strategy, and tactics, the organizers were involved primarily in an electoral strategy, and only incorporated agitation, protests and demonstrations after the electoral strategy failed. These learnings are critical to anyone willing to change society one struggle at a time, through an effective campaign that can activate the masses.”

The next event in the Stop the Bombs Garland campaign is a community town hall on Saturday, September 13 at Compass Grove Fellowship Church from 3 to 5 p.m. DAWC has invited the surrounding community to come together and discuss how to stop the production of bombs in Garland, Texas.

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