Allentown, PA
Sunday, Nov. 17, 2002


On Saturday, November 16th, about 200 activists from across the Lehigh Valley gathered at Muhlenberg College to protest the impending war against Iraq. Students and faculty from Muhlenberg College, Lehigh University, Moravian College, Lafayette College, Cedar Crest College, Albright College, and Kutztown University were joined by members of local peace organizations, including LEPOCO and the Berks Peace Community, religious groups, and by the Lehigh Valley Greens.

Kicking off the day, the local political band “New West” set the tone for the day with their cutting critiques of US policy, neoliberal economics, and the anti-democratic direction of global politics. The rally featured speakers from across the region who denounced the Bush administration’s drive toward war, outlined the impact the war would have on Iraqi civilians, and the way in which the war is being pushed forward through an anti-democratic process both here in the US and in the United Nations.

In addition to speakers, the rally featured performances by students from several of the area colleges who kept the crowd moving with high energy poetry slams, politicized folk tunes, drum jams, and rousing chants. During the rally, people were kept warm by food and drink provided by Food Not Bombs.

Following the rally, about 100 people joined a march from Muhlenberg’s campus through the streets of Allentown. Brightly colored banners and loud, energetic drumming by Food Not Bombs, cut through the dark, rainy, cold day. Activists marched to the National Guard Headquarters where they presented a petition calling on the Governor not to call up the Guard when the war begins. The march wound through neighborhoods and main streets chanting against the war, drumming, and cheering. The march concluded in front of the Allentown Public Library with marchers forming a circle and counting off to ensure that the local media presented accurate numbers.

Perhaps the most amazing and encouraging part of the march was the reaction from people in Allentown’s city neighborhoods. It is too often said that the Lehigh Valley is very conservative and pro-war. However, those statements fail to take into consideration a community with a long and strong union history that has been assaulted by NAFTA, privatization, and corporate layoffs. In addition, many of the very neighborhoods that activists marched through are no longer white, conservative, or “traditional” working class. Today’s Allentown reflects a multicultural mix of African-Americans, Latinos, Asian, and white residents that are the “new” working classes of our post-fordist economy.

Activists were both surprised and strengthened in their convictions as African-American and Latino families came out on their porches and cheered on the marchers, raising their hands in clenched fists or peace signs and as motorists held up by marchers at intersections honked in support, flashed peace signs, and cheered. There were even several people who came out of their homes to find out what was going on and then joined activists for the remainder of the march. Any voices of opposition to the war remained fairly isolated with one group of burly white men driving by in their SUV shouting “Kill the Iraqis” and another older man stepping out of his car to accuse the marchers of all being “draft dodgers,” despite the fact there is currently no draft.

While it is significant in it’s own right that over 100 activist from around the Lehigh Valley rallied and marched against the war for more than two hours in the cold and rain, it is even more important to see that the numbers in the streets represent only a small slice of the popular resistance against the war. Activists made clear that Saturday’s march was not the peak of resistance against the war in this region. Rather, activists used the day to build regional networks among students, faculty, community-based organizations, religious groups, and other activist organizations to build stronger and wider resistance to the war in the weeks and months to come.