A gathering to mark the sixth anniversary of the United States occupation of Iraq and demand change in economic policy is scheduled to occur Thursday, March 19 at Kanawha Plaza in downtown Richmond. The rally is being co-sponsored by several activist groups.
The rally will begin at 4:30 p.m. in front of the Virginia Employment Commission at 703 E. Main St. Adria Scharf, director of the Richmond Peace Education Center, said the commission has closed all of its help centers within the city and the gathering is attempting to draw attention to what she says is the system’s failure to help people sufficiently.
“The first part of the rally is to demand that we shift spending from war to jobs,” Scharf said. “(The government) is spending hundreds of billions of dollars on maintaining a global empire when people are out of work and the country is in a real economic crisis.”
According to Scharf, at 5:30 p.m. the groups will walk down the street to Kanawha Plaza where there will be speeches by community activists and leaders as well as spoken word poetry. The location of the rally was chosen specifically because of its close proximity to the Federal Reserve building and visibility in the downtown area.
Although Scharf said many people involved are excited about President Barack Obama’s administration, there is still a need to push for further changes in U.S. policy.
“There’s also this sense that we also need to continue to put the pressure on and to push for even deeper change,” Scharf said. “To push for an even more urgent response to the economic crisis and deeper cuts in military spending.”
An e-mail sent out by Paul Fleisher, the Richmond Peace Education Center assistant to the director, stated the coalition of groups are calling for an end to war and foreign occupations, deep cuts in military spending, real funding for jobs, housing, schools, health care, green infrastructure and services for the poor and returning veterans.
Photography major Jill Comstock said that while she chooses not to follow the progress of the Iraq war, she agrees with the groups’ idea of shifting spending from the military to projects in local communities.
“I agree with putting the money into something more positive,” Comstock said. “Putting our money where it should be going, instead of to (a war) that has been going on for six years.”
There are many groups involved in the rally and although many have different commitments and ideas, they have all agreed on the importance of this date.
“We have come together as different groups because we all agree that is important to mark this anniversary and important to push for deeper change,” Scharf said.