White Supremacy Has No Home Here
Dismantlers of white supremacy have stationed themselves in Washington to demand moral leadership from political leaders on upholding and furthering racial justice and equality. “Impeachment Square,” formerly known as Farragut but renamed since its reclamation by a group of activists who marched 110 miles from Charlottesville to Washington, is now a home and a headquarters to the fight for racial justice and the resistance of Donald Trump and his racist agenda. Accomplices who joined in D.C. and those who arrived from Charlottesville can be found there singing protest songs and chants.
On Saturday, as Trump supporters descended on the National Mall to show their support of Trump, they marched to the White House.
These are their demands:
We are calling on our country to confront white supremacy in word and embark on the process of undoing the systems, policies, inequities, and ideologies of white supremacy.
We are calling for the removal from government of all those who side with white supremacy — including the president.
Once outside, the leader of the march from Charlottesville to Washington Nelini Stamp spoke to marchers and tourists explaining why we’re here and why we’re fighting. Let’s learn from their principles of unity (below), amplify their voices, be accomplices when we can, and remember that white folks—myself included—cannot lead the dismantling of white supremacy, though it is our responsibility to aid and abet in destroying it.
Values and Agreements
We Welcome All: We are showing up for each other and our common humanity. We are led by people who are most impacted by white supremacy and who are invested in the struggle to end it. We welcome all who are ready to show up against bigotry and hate, whatever your contribution.
We Are Transformational: We are committed to learning and undoing harmful systems as they exist in each of us and are actively working to confront white supremacy, classism, misogyny, patriarchy, transphobia, homophobia, fatphobia, ableism, anti-Semitism, and settler-colonial as they exist within us
We are a nonviolent movement: We believe in the principles of nonviolence. We use no violence or threat of violence—whether physical, verbal, or written—at any time. We believe in confrontational nonviolent action.
We Respect and love the space: We believe in sober actions - we pledge not to use alcohol or drugs in the vigil. We will treat this space with respect. We will clean up after ourselves, respect all who pass through this space and leave it as we found it. We do not harass, abuse or otherwise mistreat anyone.
We Depend on Each Other: Our strength and resilience lie in our relationships – none of us can thrive alone. All of us deserve love, joy, and rest. We understand that every individual’s personal well-being is integral to our strength as a movement. With empathy and affection, we care for ourselves and each other. With song and celebration, we nourish our community.
It Takes All of Us: This movement will take all of us. As we encourage one another to risk and sacrifice for our common purpose, we recognize the many different forms our service may take. We lift up every contribution to our struggle, no matter how small. We can never say “Thank You” too much. And we know we are one piece of a larger puzzle.
We respect local communities: We engage with community leaders in Charlottesville and Washington DC to respect and support their ongoing work that was done before us and will continue after us.
We are leaderful: We are motivated only by a shared desire to create transformational change. We affirm leadership not as a means to dominate, profit, or gain status, but as an act of service and responsibility and a process of development and empowerment. As a volunteer movement, we struggle because we believe in the mission and we respect the leadership structure of the vigil.
Molly Adams is an LA-based photographer documenting stories from Afghanistan to Standing Rock to queer clubs. You can find her on Instagram.