July 4th an apt day for protest in Lynn

LYNN — Approximately 20 people marched from Manning Field to Wyoma Square to continue an annual tradition of Independence Day protests on Thursday afternoon.

The Diverse People United coalition planned the protest to call for an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and acknowledge the atrocities occurring as a result of it. During the protest, members of the coalition also spoke out about the ongoing civil war in Sudan and racism in the United States.

Barbara Atim Okeny, an organizer of the protest, said the coalition hosts an annual protest on the Fourth of July to acknowledge marginalized groups “that aren’t necessarily free (and) to honor the pursuit for independence and justice and liberation for different communities.”

Protesters gathered by a median by Fauci Pizza while Jonathan Okeny read an excerpt from Frederick Douglass’ 1852 speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” which emphasized the hypocrisy of Independence Day celebrations at a time when people were held as slaves in the United States.

“On Independence Day, there is nothing to recognize other than all peoples’ struggle for independence,” Fawaz Abusharkh, a founder of Northshore for Ceasefire, said.

Abusharkh, who is Palestinian, spoke to the crowd using a megaphone. He said that on Independence Day, he would like to see a world where “our students, our children, our people are not taken down by the police” for saying what they believe.

He added that money in Congress is being used for the wrong reasons, listing increased military aid as an example while forgiveness of student loans continues to be denied.

“Somehow bombs are more important than lifting our children out of debt,” Abusharkh said.

During the march, protesters chanted phrases such as “This is what democracy looks like” and “Biden, Biden, what do you say? How many kids did you kill today?”

One of the protesters, Yusef Hayes, said it is important to acknowledge the occupation of the Gaza Strip on the Fourth of July “to acknowledge continued occupation of Native lands in the United States and support Palestine for basic human-rights reasons.”

Hayes also spoke on the megaphone and said that as the group called for an end to the occupation of Palestine, its members needed to recognize that the United States is also “occupied land.”

“We are colonizers. So while it’s great to call for other people to end colonialism, we also have to recognize we are part of the problem. We have to recognize our place as settlers,” he said.

Hayes encouraged people to call their local representatives, senators, city councilors, and mayors to advocate for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

“We’re not free until everybody’s free,” said Daryl Eli, of Shirley, who marched with the protesters. “What is happening in Palestine right now is horrible and we need to empathize with that.”

After the demonstration, protesters walked to Flax Pond Park for a community gathering where they participated in art-making, held raffles, enjoyed music, and fundraised for Lynn Youth Street Outreach Advocacy, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the International Rescue Committee.

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