Honoring Dr. King’s Legacy:
A March for Economic Justice in Springfield, MA
For a 23 minute video ( shot by Joe Oliverio) of the event including some of the speeches click here
A shorter video below ( taken by Barry Scott) is an excerpt of our departure from Bank of America after giving them & eye and ear full. More video and pics on the way!
Dunwell family facing eviction singing Solidarity Forever with 1199SEIU members. Photo : Barry Scott
200 union members, students and community activists marched to Bank of America on the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, demanding economic justice in Springfield, MA. Standing beside two of his daughters, David Dunwell spoke out passionately on behalf of his family. They are at risk of being evicted by BoA following another senseless foreclosure in our so-called “City of Homes.”
David Dunwell and his 2 daughters in front of BoA. Photo: Ruben Santiago
David pointed out the irony of that name in the city with the state’s highest foreclosure rate. He is a bank tenant leader in the new Springfield No One Leaves/Nadie Se Mude campaign. Waving “Make Wall Street Pay!” signs and shouting “SHAME!” the crowd rallied in support of the entire Dunwell family. We then marched down Main Street shouting, “How do we fix a deficit? TAX– TAX– TAX THE RICH!” And An Act to Invest in Our Community would do just that in Massachusetts. Union workers and community members fired up the crowd at City Hall, declaring their support for the Act. Pioneer Valley CLC President Rick Brown gave his support to the rank-and-file union members who spoke out against budget cuts and against the increasing assault on democracy and workers’ rights.
David Dunwell, Lara Shepard-Blue (No One Leaves Campaign), Rick Brown (Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO), Noelia Ramos (Springfield Bank Tenant Association leader) and Tamador Gibreel (SEIU 509 organizing committee member, human service worker who also spoke). photo: Ruben Santiago
The sun finally broke through, and the rally closed with Dr. King’s final speech and a militant chorus of “Solidarity Forever.” MC Malcolm Chu declared that the fight will continue, with labor and community members united!
More video, available soon…