Sunday in Lincoln, Nebraska a broad coalition of native American tribes, environmental groups, landowners and others gathered to protest against the Keystone XL pipeline on the day before the Nebraska Public Service Commission starts a week of hearings on the pipeline.
On the steps of the state capitol.
“Just following instructions”
Before the rally and march:
“No oil in our soil”
Protect the land, water, and climate”
“…before it ends us”
The founder of Bold Nebraska speaking at the rally, flanked by a landowner and leadership of several tribes:
Jane Kleeb, Bold Nebraska.
Someone was watching.
One of many drones flying over the rally and march. Landing on the capitol grounds.
Apparently one of the many drones flying over and near the march collided with a building. We missed that.
Immediately before the rally and march to protest the Keyston XL pipeline yesterday in Lincoln, Nebraska the organizers held a press conference and then individual press availabilities. Due to our close proximity, we were able to catch one of those short interviews:
Reporter: And why do you think a march like this, how much do you think this is going to help the process of the public hearings? How is the public support that is here today going to help?
Joye Braun, Indigenous Environmental Network: I think it’s important for the Public Service Commission to recognize that they do have a large opposition to Keystone XL [pipeline]. And by actually seeing it manifested here is a good way to show to the government of Nebraska that this pipeline is unwanted.
Reporter: And you mentioned that Keystone, or Trans Canada I should say, picks out spots with indigenous people.
Joye Braun: Yes.
Reporter: What facts do you have to support that?
Joye Braun: Well, I come from the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. That’s my home. And originally Keystone XL wanted to go straight through my reservation. Another point is, with Dakota Access pipeline, they originally wanted to go just north of Bismarck. They moved it because of the outcry of the non-native population in Bismarck, to just north of Standing Rock. Those are two very recent ways of showing that.
Reporter: Then I’m guessing you had, so you were a protester with the Dakota Access pipeline?
Joye Braun: I am a protector, not a protester. [crosstalk] I’m a protector.
Reporter: Protector, fair enough. And how are these two situations similar and how are they different?
Joye Braun: They’re similar because we’re going up against big oil. Trans Canada or Energy Transfer Partners, which was Dakota Access, is a [inaudible] with Keystone XL. Both of them don’t like safety issues brought up. Both of them don’t like to do environmental impact statements. Both of them do not look at the indigenous populations or other populations that don’t necessarily have access to big lawyers, farmers and ranchers. They don’t have access to big lawyers. So they target these areas to, to, to push their pipeline through. Pipelines leak. We know that. Dakota Access has already leaked twice. And…
Reporter: And, so, you say this does happen. You think it’s just going to leak and ruin a lot of your land as well?
Joye Braun: It will leak a lot of our land. It’s going to leak a lot of Nebraska land as well. Nebraska has the Ogallala Aquifer underneath it. Without that aquifer underneath it the breadbasket of America is not, not going, to be no longer. I mean, what are people going to do when, when they have to pay fifteen dollars for a loaf of bread? I know I, as a family, can’t afford fifteen dollars for a loaf of bread. Can you afford that? I don’t think so.
Sunday in Lincoln, Nebraska a broad coalition of native American tribes, environmental groups, landowners and others gathered to protest against the Keystone XL pipeline on the day before the Nebraska Public Service Commission starts a week of hearings on the pipeline.
“Water is life”
Bold Nebraska, 350.org and the Sierra Club sponsored a Pipeline Fighter Summit in Lincoln before the march, bringing together groups and individuals from surrounding states to share and discuss strategies in fighting tar sand pipelines. People from Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and other states attended the summit and marched in protest.
“Water protector”
Various local news reports stated that anywhere from 500 to 600 or more people attended the rally at the state capitol and marched through downtown Lincoln.
“…my three girls are like, Daddy, where are you going this morning, a climate march? We, we, march, uh, for fifteen and a union. I was like, no baby, we march for justice…”
On Saturday the Climate March for Kansas City took place on the Plaza with a march around the Plaza in the rain and a following rally at Unity Temple. Over a thousand people attended the rally.
Several speakers at the rally addressed climate change.
Terrence Wise.
Terrence Wise’s remarks at the rally:
Terrence Wise: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So I can tell you, uh, I won’t let the weather get me down. It’s easy to wake up and look out the window and see the rain and kind of be down. You know, feel that way. But today I was inspired when I woke up. [voice: “All right.”] I knew I had a, a march to come to, a climate rally is what they want to call it. But I knew I was coming to be a part of a movement. Not a moment, a movement, as this sign right here says. And then I walk in the room and I read the back of your shirt, Manny [Abarca] and I see signs like Our Labor, Our Planet I know I’m in the right place. [cheers, applause] [inaudible]
As Manny stated, my name is Terrence Wise and I’m a McDonald’s worker, a leader in the fight for fifteen. Four years ago I was working two full time jobs in fast food here in Kansas City while my fiancé worked a full time jobs as well as a home health aide. Our family, despite our three incomes, still lost our home here in Kansas City. We found ourselves living out of our purple Dodge minivan. Right out in front of my job, right here close to where we are today. This was the reality for my family. I felt depressed. I was angry. Listen to my three girls, one of whom has asthma, in the back seat of our minivan, sharing a blanket , that was our habitat for the night. No parent should have to go through this. None. To see our belongings piled high in the back of our minivan. Even though I work in the richest nation on Earth, the planet we live on right now, my family has continued to live in poverty. And not only my family, but many families here in Kansas City have endured these conditions.
I’ve worked in fast food for nearly twenty years. But I only make nine dollars an hour as Manny stated. I have no sick days, no vacation, no voice on the job whatsoever, and as a result of these conditions the lives, the conditions, the lives of my children, my fiancé have been on the decline over the years. Not just my family, but workers all across Kansas City have experienced homelessness and struggle to provide the basic necessities for our families. Each month we chose between paying the rent, keeping food on the table, or keeping utilities on. Those are decisions we’re faced to make every day.
I know fast food workers with go with this past winter without working heat, without running water. We work in a two hundred billion dollar industry where companies like McDonald’s make over five billion dollars a year in profits. [voice: “Unbelievable.”] Unbelievable is correct. For CEOs like Steve Easterbrook, the CEO of McDonald’s, is making fourteen million dollars a year, nine thousand dollars an hour, folks. We work hard every day making these companies filthy rich. But our children continue to live in poverty.
The fast food industry wants to perpetuate a myth that I am not a typical fast food worker. They would have the public believe that fast food workers are just teenagers looking for a little extra spending cash. Well, the Washington Post recently reported the average fast food worker is twenty-eight years old. Seventy percent are twenty years or older. And one third of fast food workers are over the age of forty years old. Two thirds of fast food workers are single working mothers. Why should people who work hard every day in the richest nation on Earth wake up and still live in poverty? [applause] Why?
I’ll tell you. Some people might say, and people do ask, they come up, they say, Terrence, why don’t you get a better job? You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, get a better job Terrence. Well, I’m gonna tell you there simply aren’t any other jobs. Low wage jobs like fast food and retail are the fastest growing in America’s economy today. There are sixty-four million Americans who make less than fifteen dollars an hour. It’s why fast food workers like me and my coworkers across Kansas City have been organizing to win a union, have been organizing to win fifteen dollars an hour. [voice: “Yes.”] [applause] That’s the only way to make those bad jobs good jobs. We’re working on it. [applause, cheers]
I just want to let the cat out of the bag. As organizing is a way to make our planet a better planet as well. [cheers, applause] Don’t forget that. Low wage workers in Kansas City and across the country have been organizing for four years now. We’ve gone on strike ten times. We’ve fasted in front of City Hall. We’ve marched and rallied and shared our stories. And spoke out about winning a living wage and a voice on the job. We’ve been in this fight and our allies have been right beside us the whole way. And the labor, faith, and civil rights communities have been on the strike lines with us. And the monsoons like you see today, they’ve been out there with us the hundred degree heat and sometimes in the snow, standing with us.
Our allies in environmental justice community have stood with us as well. The president of the Sierra Club, he stood with fast food workers when we first went on strike. Because he knows when we are united we have the strength to win justice for all. While workers like me live in poverty these billion dollar companies make record profit. But it’s not just the workers that are suffering under these corporate business models. Companies like McDonald’s and WalMart treat our environment no better than they treat their employees. [voice: “All right.”] [applause, cheers]
These same, these same corporations that are leading the global race to the bottom are also engaging in unsustainable practices that harm our planet and waste vital natural resources. McDonald’s, for instance, the second largest employer on the planet, they [inaudible] our environment by clear cutting the rain forest, they do this to keep up with their packaging needs and to grow the palm oil the use to make their famous McDonald’s French fries. They’re clear cutting our rain forests.
On one hand these companies that are fighting to, efforts to decrease [inaudible] and regulate the industry and on the other hand they’re attacking unions and workers across the country. [voice: “Boo.”] And, in a quest for profits above all else the workers and the environment loses. [voice: “That’s right.”] But it’s time we start winning y’all. [voice: “Yeah.”] [cheers, applause] We must unite and fight together as we are today. Because as Dr. King once said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. I don’t care [applause] if you’re talking about climate justice, economic justice, racial equality. A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. [applause]
And I can tell you [applause], I can tell you, that line stood out to me because my three girls are like, Daddy, where are you going this morning, a climate march? We, we, march, uh, for fifteen and a union. I was like, no baby, we march for justice. [cheers, applause] Whether it’s climate justice, whether it’s racial justice, whether it’s economic justice. And that’s why we march, baby. [applause, cheers] And that’s why daddy’s going.
‘Cause we must continue to fight together y’all. We must continue to march and rally together to insure that our planet and our community is working for everyone. [voice: “Yeah.”] For real. And we invite you all to come out with us. I can see the flyer in your hand, the yellow one you had, in there, it’s a useful tool. I invite you all to come out with us on Monday, May first for our May Day rally and march. It’ll be at five p.m. at Twelfth and Wyandotte. To fight for the economy that works for us all, ‘cause when we organize and build our strength in numbers y’all we have the power to win climate justice. We have the power to win racial and economic equality as well. But we have to build our strength in numbers. We really do. [applause]
We have a long fight ahead of us. I won’t sugarcoat it, it’s a long fight. We have a long fight ahead of us. I know it won’t be easy. Especially with this administration. For real. And its attacks on working people and science and climate justice, and attacks on Democratic ideals. It will be a long fight. But it’s a fight we need to win. It’s a fight for our future, our country, and our planet. We are stronger together, united we stand y’all.
Thank you for having me. Thank you. [applause, cheers]
“…You know, people of faith are often also people of prayer. I believe in prayer. I am a person of prayer. And I believe in prayer in a way I am sure you’re familiar with. I believe that we pray for the hungry and then we feed them. That’s how prayer works…”
On Saturday the Climate March for Kansas City took place on the Plaza with a march around the Plaza in the rain and a following rally at Unity Temple. Over a thousand people attended the rally.
Several speakers at the rally addressed climate change.
Sergio Moreno.
Sergio Moreno’s remarks at the rally at Unity Temple:
Sergio Moreno: When I heard earlier today about all of the things that have happened, some of the things, just a few of the things that have happened in the first one hundred days I was with you in that pain, that despair, and also that anger, that anxiety. It’s important to feel these feelings, to be angry, to be upset, and to stand up.
It’s also possible to be, to despair, to feel distress and perhaps even grow indifferent. And that’s when I’m reminded that I am surrounded by people like you. And I’m reminded of the power of music and song and the power of poetry and spoken word and dance [voice: “Yeah.”] and signs and art. Look at those beautiful banners. They’re not just beautiful, they’re powerful. I look at your signs. I want to see your signs again. Let’s see those signs. [applause, cheers]
This, this is the human spirit. And it is the human spirit that creates change for good. It’s the same spirit that creates change for bad. We are the ones who are responsible for the mess we’re in. And we are the ones that can get ourselves out of this mess. [cheers, applause] And this is the same spirit that has informed our faith, our spirituality, our communities for millennia.
From his holiness, Pope Francis, and his holiness, the Dalai Lama, spiritual and religious leaders, all around the world from every faith have raised their voices and have sounded the alarm for climate change. There is no time to waste. The time is now, the time is yesterday. Churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, all manner of religious communities have urged their faithful to become involved, to become concerned, to become educated and to take their part in this environmental responsibility that belongs to all of us.
But that’s not enough. It’s a good start. It’s a great start, but it is not enough. It’s not enough until people like you and people like me start taking action. This planet as we’ve heard, as we know for the foreseeable future, is our only home. The earth is what we have in common. We share it. Whether you’re Christian, Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, an Atheist, a Humanist, maybe a Pastafarian, it doesn’t matter [laughter], we don’t need to agree on a whole lot to see that we are interconnected. We’ve heard this theme over and over again. Why do we have people representing so many different areas of life? Because it’s all interconnected. We are related. I am because you are. Because what we do here [applause] has an effect on what happens there. We are interconnected.
It’s [unintelligible] to see. And here’s something we don’t hear about enough. We’ve heard about it today, but we don’t hear about it enough. And it should be a great concern to people of all faiths and no faith alike. And it is that the poor of the world are the first to feel the devastating effects of climate change. [voice: “Right.”] There’s no question about it. [applause] The more fortunate, the wealthy, the privileged, people like you and me, we can manage to live and we’ll be fighting. But it is those who are already more than oppressed, more than burdened, who are the first to suffer the consequences of our communal disregard for our environment.
Science has shown this, a very long time. Uh, this is a frightening reality, climate change. There’s no question about it. But what we should also realize is that climate change goes beyond the environment. Beyond clean water, beyond clean air, clean energy, sustainable practices. Climate change has a direct impact on our society. On people, on economic and social issues, on wealth disparity, health, peace, war. It is all interconnected.
Now, today all over our nation, perhaps all over the world, I am not sure, I know that there are thousands of people marching and gathering at rallies across the nation, coming together to make this urgent statement. This is wonderful. Very encouraging. I’m so encouraged. I’m filled with hope and joy to be a part of this movement.
But the real work begins tomorrow. The real work begins as we leave this place. When we go back to our homes, our schools, our work, our communities of faith, our neighborhoods. You know, people of faith are often also people of prayer. I believe in prayer. I am a person of prayer. And I believe in prayer in a way I am sure you’re familiar with. I believe that we pray for the hungry and then we feed them. That’s how prayer works. [applause, cheers] I believe that we pray for the environment and then we take action, we effect change. [cheers, applause] We pray for our government, we pray for our leaders and then we make our voices heard in the ballot box [cheers, applause] with our representatives. With our e-mails, and our phone calls, and our Tweets, and our hashtags. That’s how prayer works.
So, I want to thank you today for the work that you’re engaging in. Not just today, but in the days ahead and the years to come. And I thank you and I hope that you will feel encouraged as you look around and you see all of these people who may not have a whole lot in common with you, but are here for the same purpose. To take care of this place that we share, to take care, ultimately, of one another.
Activists for women’s rights gathered in Jefferson City today for a march and rally at the Capitol. Over seventy-five individuals braved the cold rain and wind to show support for the Equal Rights Amendment, women’s rights and to hear speakers. Former state Representative Deleta Williams, a sponsor of the ERA in the General Assembly in the 90s, was the keynote speaker.
Former state Representative Deleta Williams (D) speaking at the Missouri Women United march in Jefferson City on April 27, 2013.
The remarks of Representative Deleta Williams (D), as prepared:
Deleta Williams: On a warm but a very sad day, Oct. 20, 2000, I walked with my fellow legislators, state officials, and other dignitaries, including President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Hillary and Tipper, from the governor’s mansion to the spot where we stand today, to attend the funeral of an outstanding and beloved Governor Mel Carnahan. At that service, his daughter, Robin, gave a very moving eulogy and told us that on cold mornings, as her dad left their Rolla farm home, he always said, “Don’t let the fire go out.”
As I thought about my remarks for today, it occurred to me that you are a very challenging group to speak to. I thought, “What can I possibly say to this group that would be beneficial? They know well the issues or they would not be attending the rally. They understand the importance and the urgency of the issues — or they would not be attending the rally.”
So I decided to reflect on some, certainly not all, who have refused to let the fire go out on women’s rights as I believe inspiration can be gotten from others experiences.
Certainly first and foremost, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul and Lucretta Mott and the women of their day, who worked tirelessly, from 1867 to 1920 to gain the right for women to vote. And in so doing they endured hunger strikes, time in jail and even death in that struggle. Today, 93 years later, the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, remains the only right guaranteed to women in the U.S. Constitution. These women of yesteryear did not let the fire go out….
….When I became a member of the Missouri House, Representative Sue Shear was the sponsor of the ERA, during what was referred to as the second wave of the ratification process after having been in the trenches during the first wave. She was an outstanding legislator who championed many other pieces of progressive legislation. I remember vividly a morning session of the House when Speaker Gaw had arranged a tribute to Suzy, as she was fondly called, by placing the Equal Rights Amendment on the calendar for that day, making arrangements for a speaker and preparing a House Resolution honoring her 36 years as a member of the House. Rep. Shear had cancer and was hospitalized in St. Louis. The call was made and a frail voice came over the phone “Mr. Speaker”. Speaker Gaw replied — ”For what reason does the lady from the 83rd District wish to be recognized?” And Suzy replied, “Mr Speaker, I move that the ERA be adopted.” Then she proceeded to speak, briefly but passionately, about the merits of the ERA. Unfortunately, this time of honoring Representative Shear became the lowest point of my legislative experience, and of many others who witnessed what happened, when Representative Vicky Hartzler, now Congresswoman Hartzler, who by the way recently voted no on the Violence Against Women Act, stood on the House floor and engaged Representative Shear in a contentious and what seemed to be a never ending debate on the evils of the ERA. Not long afterward Representative Shear passed away. But she had literally kept the fire burning on ERA to the last days of her life.
Soon after the death of Rep. Shear, I attended a BPW [Business and Professional Women] legislative workshop held across the way at the Capitol Plaza. I had been in Jefferson City all week and the last thing I wanted to do was to go back on Saturday. However, I could not say no to my good friend and supporter, Marie Hyatt, another first waver and so she and I went as representatives of the of the Warrensburg BPW.
We broke out in small groups to talk about ERA. From where I was sitting I could hear the conversation from a nearby table and heard someone say, “Maybe Representative Williams would sponsor the ERA”. It had never entered my mind that I would take up what Rep. Shear had done for so many years. I had not been in the trenches during the first wave and was totally unprepared for this task. But finally, I walked over to the table and said “I am Rep. Williams and I will sponsor the ERA.” My legislative assistant, Marie Gladbach, was elated when I told her on Monday morning what we were going to be doing. She had been involved in the first wave also.
During the time when I sponsored the ERA, I discovered that many women, and especially the younger women, thought they already had equal rights and they could not see the need to have these rights included in the Constitution. As we watch now, almost daily, we see these rights, that so many take for granted, being limited, unfunded or underfunded and even in some instances eliminated. Hopefully more and more people and especially the young women see the need for inclusion in Constitution as the only guarantee to these rights. Organizations like those involved in this rally, and BPW, AAUW and others play a key part in keeping the fire from going out.
Passing ERA in the Missouri legislature in the 90’s was challenging and our motto was, “If their minds can’t be changed, change their faces”. As you well know, this has not happened and the number and the resolve of the opposition has grown stronger and stronger. It is incumbent upon all of us here today to work diligently in the next election and however many elections it takes to changed these faces to women’s rights friendly faces.
Senator Justus, with SR 6 and Representative Morgan, HR 36, and their co-sponsors are to be commended for their resolve, in a very difficult environment, to keeping the fire from going out.
Women and I want to thank the men in attendance here today and other men who have been supporters over the years. Every man has or had a mother, most have a wife and many have daughters. And so, why would men not want to support the efforts against the assault of reproductive rights, the threat to women in the areas of education, equal pay for equal work, voter suppression and crimes against women?
The first thing on the agenda each day in the House is the approval of the journal from the previous session. One year the Republican members of the house became upset about something and decided that they would vote against approving the journal until their issue was addressed. There were, at that time, enough Democrats in the House to approve the journal without the votes of the Republicans, so it became rather routine until one day when Representative Mike Shilling, a male and supporter of women’s rights, convinced enough Democratic supporters of ERA, who were upset with ERA not being placed on the calendar, to not show up for the vote to approve the journal. Well, with Republicans voting no and twelve Democrats absent, the votes were not there to approve the journal and business in the House came to a standstill. House leadership met with the group of twelve and agreed to place ERA on the calendar, assuring floor debate and a vote, which failed as expected, but was viewed as positive from the standpoint of keeping the issue of ERA on the front burner.
Thanks to the men and to Representative Mike Schilling for their help in keeping the fire from going out.
Recently, I attended a lecture by Lilly Ledbetter on the campus of UCM. You will recall that she took her wage discrimination case all the way to the Supreme Court where she lost because of the statute of limitations. In a dramatic moment, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg read her dissent from the bench urging Lilly to fight back– and fight she did, becoming the namesake of President Obama’s first official piece of legislation. Today she is a tireless advocate for change, traveling the country to urge women and minorities to claim their civil rights. Her compelling story is told in the book Grace and Grit. Lilly is certainly doing her part in keeping the fire from going out and we can all take inspiration from her efforts.
Last but now least, I want to recognize Mary Mosley and congratulate her on receiving the Alice Paul award. She is extremely deserving of this award. I wish I knew how many miles she has walked in the halls of the capitol in support of progressive issues. She and Shirley Breeze, working together diligently, were my mentors, my teachers and my inspiration. I say thank you for your efforts in keeping the fire from going out.
In closing I would like to share this: Life is like bike riding; it would be good to enjoy the occasional chance to sit back and coast along for a short while, but remember, that in general, if you don’t keep pedaling, it won’t be long until you fall down.
At the start of the march.
On the street, joining the march.
On the Capitol grounds.
Michelle Trupiano, Missouri Lobbyist and Public Policy Manager for Planned Parenthood of Kansas & Mid-Missouri, addressed the rally.
We have both men and women here and I am so happy that everybody is here for human rights and women’s rights today.
Teresa Hensley: What a fantastic day to have women out fighting for their rights.
Paula Willmarth: We have been fighting this fight for way too long. We’re tired of it. We’ve had enough.
Marchers: It’s important to stand up for the rights of women which I think are being eroded every day.
This is a human rights issue.
We’re here to say that our voices will no longer be silenced. We’ll always be strong and, uh, we’ll always stand together no matter what.
Whether it’s women’s rights today or worker’s rights tomorrow or voter’s rights the day after, uh, we have to stand in solidarity because these are human rights and they’re being threatened.
