See the 5 Most Fascinating Protests at the Republican National Convention
CODE PINK
The members of Code Pink, a feminist, anti-war group taking a stand against the conflict in the Middle East, showed up to the RNC on Monday looking totally fly in pink Statue of Liberty costumes. According to their website, the group was founded in the fall of 2002 as a way to protest the U.S. war in Iraq. “We actively oppose the continuing U.S. war in Afghanistan, torture, the detention center at Guantanamo, weaponized and spy drones, the prosecution of whistleblowers, U.S. support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and repressive regimes,” the group stated. At the RNC, the group is advocating that trillions in war spending be reallocated to needs at home, like education and healthcare, and they’re even planning a Trump-inspired beauty pageant to condemn the candidate’s bigotry.
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SHUT DOWN TRUMP AND THE RNC
Members of this group, who banded together specifically for the RNC, are taking a stand against racism, Islamaphobia, and the unjust treatment of the LGBTQ community. “We urge support and unity for all the actions protesting Trump and the RNC,” the group said via their Facebook page. The group hosted a Dump Trump protest on Monday, and plans to continue to demonstrate throughout the week.
Photograph by Justin Sullivan/Getty
END POVERTY NOW
Members of End Poverty Now are against economic injustice, noting on their website that Cleveland has a history of being one of the most segregated and poorest areas in the country. On Monday, the group hosted a march and rally to protest politicians—from both parties—in the hopes of raising awareness of serious root causes of poverty like economic injustice, racial injustice, immigrant rights, and human rights.
Joining up with the @EndPoverty2016 event. #STAT #RNCinCLE pic.twitter.com/hnZ0XmoQRJ
— Stand Together (@ST_AgainstTrump) July 18, 2016
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COALITION TO STOP TRUMP
This coalition is bringing together several different causes and protest groups in one unified stand against the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee. The group, which is organizing events at the RNC all week, is made up of an amalgamation of immigrant rights supporters, Muslim rights advocates, and members of the Black Lives Matter movement. “We are building momentum against a bigoted Trump,” the group’s organizer Mick Kelly said in an interview with USA Today.
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EVERYTHING SHE SAYS MEANS EVERYTHING
As part of a photography project to advocate women’s rights, 100 women—Democrats, Republicans, and everyone in between—stripped down in Cleveland. The famous photographer behind the project, Spencer Tunick, called out to volunteers in May with a plan to make a major statement at the RNC by confronting lawmakers with the faces—and bodies—of the women’s rights movement. Over 1,800 women applied to be part of the project. At the start of the convention, the 100 diverse women selected gathered outside of Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and, standing totally nude, held up mirrors—symbolic of the fact that we are a reflection of everything around us. “Sometimes you just have to stand up for what’s right,” Jennifer Dienes, one of the participants in the peaceful protest, said in an interview with The Huffington Post. “I’m proud of what I did.”
“Everything She Says Means Everything” 100 nude women gather at the foot of the Republican National Convention armed only with mirrors and their radiant bodies, to reflect their anger through art against the hateful repressive rhetoric of many in the Republican Party towards women and minorities. “By holding mirrors, we hope to suggest that women are a reflection and embodiment of nature, the sun, the sky and the land. … The woman becomes the future and the future becomes the woman.” #EverythingSheSaysMeansEverything #lovetrumpshate #thefutureisfemale
A photo posted by Carolyn Barron, L.Ac. (@botanarchy) on Jul 18, 2016 at 8:13pm PDT