RADICAL PRO-CHOICE CALL TO ACTION FOR APRIL 25, 2004:

—feminists, radical cheerleaders, anti-authoritarians, anarchists and all

those concerned with women’s autonomy: join us on April 25th 2004 in

Washington, DC for a highly festive mobile cheer bloc!



WHY:

There was a time in America’s history when self-identifying radicals

fought tirelessly to end government occupation of the womb—they succeeded.

Many of us owe them our lives; all of us owe them our respect. But now,

after spending 30 years ignorantly blanketed by the comfort of having the

law on our side, the radical community gradually forgot that the freedom

we consider a human right is seen by others as a "privilege." After

winning Roe v. Wade, we moved on to new issues and failed to see that the

responsibility of our reproductive freedom was left in the hands of a few

bureaucratic organizations. Such liberal organizations have come to

depend greatly upon reformist action; placing all hope in expensive

lobbyists and political campaigns. It has become clear in recent months

that the bush administration has used these organizations’ petitions as

toilet paper—they are failing and the struggle needs our help.

As radicals we stand committed to an ideology, of whatever form, which

shapes our identities as well as our actions. Because of this, we, as a

movement and as individuals, face a constant unspoken struggle between

owning our politics and actually living them. In a society that stands so

far from the various utopian visions we may hold, it is difficult—and

arguably dangerous—to altogether avoid reformist action. As feminists we

must meet this realization with nothing less than complete solidarity.

This is a call to action directed at the radical community who must now

open its eyes to a new reality in which women’s autonomy is under attack.

We are closer than ever before arriving at the day when the United States

government will strip away women’s right to access safe abortion

services—a right so essential that its nonexistence has become almost

unfathomable. At this pivotal time in history, the radical community must

rise up. We must rise up against a tyrannical government which threatens

to penetrate women’s bodies with its laws, and we must rise up above our

reservations with the liberal bureaucratic organizations that lead the

pro-choice movement. We believe that this struggle will be won through

solidarity and action; for this reason, we are calling for a radical

contingent within a liberal march.



WHEN:

On Sunday April 25, 2004 (the weekend of the annual IMF/World Bank Spring

meetings) tens of thousands of feminists will converge in Washington, DC

for the end-all-be-all of pro-choice marches, coined “The March for

Women’s Lives,” which has been organized collaboratively over the past

year by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Feminist Majority

Foundation, the National Organization for Women, and NARAL Pro-choice

America.



WHAT:

We are calling for a mobile black/purple/pink noise bloc concentrated on

radical cheerleading within this larger march. We are asking for people

to learn the cheers at home, and come prepared with flags, noise makers

and a festive spirit. Because the bloc will be mobile, radical cheering

will take a slightly different form than most squads are used to; we

envision it as being vocally based, thus allowing anyone to join in. We

are calling upon any squads or individuals who have PRO-CHOICE cheers to

send them to the contact information below; we will then compile a master

cheer list and put it up on a TBA website.

We will hold a guerilla workshop/practice at the National Conference on

Organized Resistance (NCOR) taking place in Washington, DC at the end of

January, so if you’ll be there, look for signs. Additionally, we will try

to put together some practices on April 23-24 so we can learn the cheers

together.

Aside from the cheering aspect, we feel the purpose of this contingent is

to be as loud and as visible as possible. We want to show our commitment

to tactical diversity while showing the government, as well as the

pro-choice movement, that the radical community is as committed to the

issue of women’s choice as it is to anything else. We are encouraging

creative direct action for this march, including: guerilla theater,

drums/music, literature distribution, puppets, banners, etc… For the

purposes of this march many of our common tactics will prove futile,

therefore, as members of the DC community based upon our experience and

knowledge of the area, we are discouraging property destruction and police

confrontation as tactics.

HOWEVER, if you or your group has a strong affinity for property

destruction and/or confrontation, we suggest channeling your efforts in

creative ways. For example, we can guarantee that there will be

anti-choice counter-protesters present throughout the city. Though

angrily confronting such people is useless because they are irrational and

will not listen to you, their demonstrations often rely heavily on

visuals. These visuals are often put on the sides of mobile vehicles or

set up behind a very small fence; either way a thick layer of paint could

really compliment a bloody fetus picture.

The late term abortion ban which was recently signed into law is the

biggest blow to reproductive autonomy that many of us have experienced in

our lifetimes. Government imperialism into women’s bodies is a radical

issue and requires radical action. This struggle is time sensitive, we

dare not lay dormant any longer and risk the overturn of Roe v. Wade

before the end of Bush’s term. Therefore, we must pool all available

resources and face the government in solidarity. Join us.

Detailed information involving specific times, locations, and website info

will come in the following weeks/months.

Any groups wishing to endorse this call to action and/or aid in the

organization of this event please contact us.

All inquiries for further information and submissions of pro-choice

cheers/songs, please contact us at:

The Radical Cheerleaders of DC:

RCDC@mutualaid.org

In addition, the specific organizers of this action can be reached directly:

Corie:

202-246-1822

corie@resist.ca

Michael:

202-213-3365

michael@mutualaid.org

----please circulate and help get the word out!!----