Convention Report: Jamaica Plain People's Party
A convention report from the Kucinich website:
Jamaica Plain progressives weren't invited to the Democratic National Convention, but they weren't going to be left out of the fun.
The Kucinich for President campaign teamed up with Fund the Dream, Project Hip Hop, the Jamaica Plain Action Network, and United for Justice with Peace to spend the eve of the convention in their own community, with music, speakers, comedians, food and a march through the streets. The event attracted several hundred participants, some from Jamaica Plain, and others who came to Boston to attend progressive events centered around the DNC.
"The left needs to have fun," said Marriarra White of Dorchester, director of Project Hip Hop. White, along with a number of community leaders and political activists, created the event to be a welcoming space for families and to celebrate people throughout Jamaica Plain and across Boston. "It's important for everyone to feel welcome," said White. For White, it gave families and others in the community the opportunity to share something positive, rather than being negative.
Jamaica Plains is a community notable for its economic and ethnic diversity, as well as its high level of community involvement. "In Jamaica Plain, there's a strong independent Democratic group," said Pamela Ruby Russell, local singer/songwriter who performed at the event. According to Russell, hundreds of people came together several years ago to prevent the development of Jamaica Pond, an environment they treasure.
Democratic Congressman and former presidential candidate Dennis J. Kucinich brought the crowd on its feet. He likened Jamaica Plain to the community he grew up in Ohio, and called the poverty and joblessness that exist in both communities weapons of mass destruction. "This is where the spirit of America comes from," he said. "This is where our driving force for change must come from."
George Shrubman, a comedian billed as the world's only known singing C.I.A. agent, teased the audience that he knew they were coming. Rebecca Cooper, writer and representative of the United Steelworker's of America union, performed "Wal-Mart," a rousing poem she wrote about the corporation's effect on its employees and the economy.
Several activities required audience participation. A highlight of these was the march through local residential streets that The Backbone Campaign (TBC) led. TBC, founded by artists in the Seattle area, is composed of over 1000 members who are dedicated to moving the Democratic Party in a more progressive direction. TBC members carried aloft an approximately 20-foot model backbone, similar to a Chinese dragon float, and chanted, "This is what a backbone looks like." The float was inscribed with issues that TBC wants the Party to address, such as removing troops from Iraq and providing universal health care for all Americans.
The community's response to the march was overwhelmingly positive. Residents watched from their windows and front stoops, and some cheered along with the marchers. "You're preaching to the converted, " said Marcy Chant, a Jamaica Plains resident concerned about the destruction in Iraq.
At the end of the march, marchers were followed by a helicopter and met by about 30 state police in riot helmets. When asked if the security presence was excessive, a legal observer said, "Not this week," in reference to the heightened security surrounding the DNC.
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