Video of Rally:
Parking areas near 8850 Woodward
Rally Lineup
Land acknowledgement – Sarah Torres
Libations – Yvonne Jones
Welcome – Priest: The Rev. Anthony Estes
Allen Denard, Trumpet solo of “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
LaShelle’s School of Dance – LSO Dance Company
Piper Carter, Artist, Community Organizer and Activist
Wardell Montgomery, Poet
DJ Righteous, DJ and Spoken Word Artist
Theo Pride, Detroiters for Tax Justice
Maryam Lowen, Poet
Aurora Harris, Lecturers Employee Organization steward
Shushanna Shakur, Poet, Activist, Educator
Shawn Fain, President, UAW
People’s Spirit of Detroit award
Offering
Rashida Tlaib, U.S. Congressional Representative, Michigan 12th District
Ben Will, Motown MIC, Spoken Word Winner 2022
Palestinian Youth Movement
Joshua Feinstein, Jewish Voice for Peace
Sonya Bonnett, DJC Community Legal Advocate
Aurora Harris, Poet
Nancy Parker, Executive Director of Detroit Justice Center
WHO IS HANDALA?
From approximately 1975 through 1987 Naji Al-Ali created cartoons that depict the complexities of the plight of Palestinian refugees. These cartoons are still relevant today and Handala, the refugee child who is present in every cartoon, remains a potent symbol of the struggle of the Palestinian people for justice and self-determination.
Naji Al-Ali wrote: “The child Handala is my signature, everyone asks me about him wherever I go. I gave birth to this child in the Gulf and I presented him to the people. His name is Handala and he has promised the people that he will remain true to himself. I drew him as a child who is not beautiful; his hair is like the hair of a hedgehog who uses his thorns as a weapon. Handala is not a fat, happy, relaxed, or pampered child. He is barefooted like the refugee camp children, and he is an icon that protects me from making mistakes. Even though he is rough, he smells of amber. His hands are clasped behind his back as a sign of rejection at a time when solutions are presented to us the American way.”
Handala was born ten years old, and he will always be ten years old. At that age, I left my homeland, and when he returns, Handala will still be ten, and then he will start growing up. The laws of nature do not apply to him. He is unique. Things will become normal again when the homeland returns.
I presented him to the poor and named him Handala as a symbol of bitterness. At first, he was a Palestinian child, but his consciousness developed to have a national and then a global and human horizon. He is a simple yet tough child, and this is why people adopted him and felt that he represents their consciousness.”
Reprinted from: handala.org
Sponsors
Chuck Altman
Autoworker Caravan
Buck Dinner
Central United Methodist Church
Detroit Active & Retired Employees Association
Detroit Coalition for Police Transparency & Accountability
Detroit Right to Counsel Coalition
Detroiters for Tax Justice
Jennifer Fassbender
General Baker Institute
Rev. Denise Griebler & Rev. Bill Wylie-Kellerman
Dr. Gloria House, Detroit MLK Advisory Board
Huntington Woods Peace Project
Jewish Voice for Peace – Detroit
Nelson & Yvonne Jones
Metro Detroit A. Philip Randolph Institute
Mich. Coalition for Human Rights
Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice
Michigan Welfare Rights Organization
Moratorium NOW! Coalition
People’s Water Board Coalition
Senior Water Systems Chemists Association
Ruthven Simoms
Linda Szyszko
The Ron Allen Project
Unite All Workers for Democracy
Viola Luizzo Park Association
We the People of Detroit
Wisdom Institute
Wobbly Kitchen
Endorsers (Organizations)
Advocates for Informed Nonviolent Social Change
Arboretum Detroit
Belle Isle Restoration Project
Birwood House
Communist Workers League
Detroit Action
Detroit Communist Party USA
Detroit Jericho Movement
Detroit Justice Center
Detroit Union Education League
Field Temple
Freedom Road Socialist Organization
General Defense Committee
James and Grace Lee Boggs Center
May Day Detroit
Michigan Labor Solidarity
Michigan Peace Council
News & Letters Committees – Detroit
Palestinian Youth Movement – Detroit
Pan-African News Wire
Party for Socialism and Liberation
Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development
Social Workers for Liberation – UMich
Swords Into Plowshares Peace Center and Gallery
US Palestinian Community Network
Detroit MLK Day 