Second International League of Peoples’ Struggle U.S. Assembly a great success
Seattle, WA – On October 21 through 23, 270 activists, representing more than 50 different organizations from across the country, gathered in Seattle for the second Assembly of the U.S. chapter of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS).
Attendees heard panels and gave workshops to educate on and assess different aspects of the anti-imperialist struggle around the U.S. The Assembly united under the slogan “Fight for our rights, lives, and planet! Unite against the dying, desperate U.S. Empire!” Organizers committed themselves to fighting back against state and political repression, and to continue the people’s struggle for liberation.
Taking place in Seattle, the Assembly was situated at the foot of the Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing corporate headquarters. Organizers highlighted the role these tech companies and manufacturers have played in exploiting workers across the world and arming imperialist conquests. On the first day of the assembly, attendees marched from the Museum of History and Industry to the Amazon Spheres to take this message to the streets. They chanted “Power to the Amazon workers!” “From Palestine to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine!” and “The people, united, will never be defeated!”
“These technologies are what will be used to decide what Palestinian is able to go to school in the morning, what father is able to go to work, and who is able to go to the hospital,” shouted Aisha Mansour, an activist with Falastiniyat, as organizers marched past Google headquarters. Speaking at the start of the march, ILPS U.S. organizer Nina Macapinlic stated, “The empire is dying! A new world is waiting! But we will only get what we are organized to take!”
Workshop facilitators and panelists came from a wide range of anti-imperialist organizations across the U.S., and covered topics that included worker organizing, police repression, Puerto Rican resistance and U.S. surveillance in Palestine and the Philippines. They shared lessons, victories and defeats from the people’s struggle in the U.S. and around the world. “Community control of the police is a short-term reform that can tackle imperialism. If we’re able to control the foot soldiers of the imperialists, we’re one step closer to bringing the whole thing down,” shared Michela Martinazzi from the New York Community Action Project, speaking to a classroom full of organizers.
The Assembly also passed several resolutions for action that the U.S. chapter will undertake in the coming months. These included a resolution to join the call to free Simon Trinidad, a Colombian revolutionary and prisoner of the U.S. empire. The text of the resolution reads “It is imperative that we demand that the U.S. government free Simon Trinidad so he may return to his homeland and participate as a lead negotiator to move Columbia toward a peace with justice.” Other resolutions included an ILPS endorsement of the 2024 March on the RNC, a resolution to free Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, and a resolution to oppose the use of the terror label to brand activists.
The Assembly also included cultural performances that brought great emotion to the audience and ended with organizers coming together in celebratory dance as the venue was packed up. The entire weekend was a resounding success. “What was both agitating and heartwarming was the sense of revolutionary optimism that came from the level of organization and discipline of the participants toward a future free of imperialist domination,” said Carly Brooks of Resist US-Led War.
“The Assembly was a fantastic opportunity to build off of the momentum that labor and mass organizing has begun to build following the interruption of the pandemic,” said Zach Andrews of Seattle University’s Students for Justice in Palestine. “It further solidified the collective resilience of movements for just peace throughout the world and the interconnectedness of these struggles.”