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Ways To Resist Trump In NYC This Month
By
David Colon
Published Jan 4, 2017
Modified Jan 5, 2017
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By
David Colon
Published Jan 4, 2017
Modified Jan 5, 2017
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Well, the last ditch Electoral College flipping effort went nowhere. So at the end of the month, Donald Trump will be sworn in as president at an inauguration that, I don't know, RATT will play at. Take a little time to consider the idiocy of it all, but don't forget that the actual work of resisting a Trump presidency begins now. To help you along with that, here are a few actions you can get involved with in January:
Dump Trump Crawl
Soon, Donald Trump will control America's vast nuclear arsenal and massive security apparatus. Even before he gets sworn in though, he also controls a whole bunch of real estate around the city. The Dump Trump Crawl will therefore march past a number of Trump-branded and affiliated buildings uptown, including Trump Tower, the East 57th Street Niketown and the Vornado Partnership building to "highlight his conflicts of interests, and his inappropriate and dangerous cabinet picks."
FREE, 5 p.m., January 5th, Trump Park Avenue, 502 Park Avenue
Bridges and Powerlines, The Aye-Ayes, Stereo Off Planned Parenthood/ACLU Benefit
Planned Parenthood and the ACLU will be two groups in need of your help during the coming wave of repression of both reproductive and free speech rights. Helping them out can be more fun than filling out an online donation form though, and in the first of many benefits for both organizations this month, you can listen to some good old fashioned indie pop live while also getting a nice warm feeling in your chest knowing that the proceeds from the show will be split between both groups.
$8/$10, 8 p.m., January 6th, Union Hall, 702 Union Street
Bystander Intervention/De-escalation Workshop
Did you miss last month's class on what to do if you see someone getting harassed on the street? Lucky you, here's a second chance to learn from the same organizer, Rachel S Blum Levy. Like last month, you can learn the four D's of intervention: direct, distract, delay, and delegate, so that you can help out your fellow New Yorker without having the situation devolve into violence and chaos. Just make sure you RSVP, people are real interested in this for some reason.
FREE, 6 p.m., January 7th, SOHO20 Gallery, 56 Bogart Street
Day Against Denial
Denial...it's not just a river in Egypt! It's also a shortsighted worldview that puts profits ahead of human survival as people say "Well if it's snowing I sure can use some of that global warming" as if it's funny or original. Climate justice organization 350 is sponsoring rallies against Trump's Cabinet picks who are friendly to Big Oil, like Rex Tillerson and Rick Perry. Here in NYC you can either join up with crowds putting pressure on Chuck Schumer in front of his Park Slope home, or get slightly less personal by rallying outside of the Manhattan office he shares with fellow New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Either way, the message will be the same: keep climate change skeptics and deniers out of the decision-making process.
FREE, 12:30 p.m. (Manhattan rally) or 7 p.m. (Brooklyn rally), January 9th
ResistTrumpTuesdays: Senator Schumer: Resist Trump
If you can't make it out to the rallies against Trump's Cabinet picks on Monday, there's also one on Tuesday. This march, from Grand Army Plaza down past Schumer's home, will be less focused specifically on people like Rex Tillerson and more focused on a general message of telling Schumer to keep that spine he seems to have found.
FREE, 6 p.m., January 10th, Grand Army Plaza
Decolonize the Resistance
On the other hand, maybe you aren't a huge Chuck Schumer fan and instead of rallying on his turf to let him know you want him to stand strong against Trump, you just want to tell him to get out of the way and let more marginalized people take the lead. In that case, there's this other march that's also going from Grand Army Plaza to Schumer's home that's happening in order to let Schumer, and the people putting their faith in him, know that it isn't just Trump and Schumer who are the problem but that "white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, and imperialism are the problem."
FREE, 6 p.m., January 10th, Grand Army Plaza
NASTY WOMEN Exhibition
Put the claim that a Trump administration will mean there's some great art to the test at this four day art exhibition featuring "artists who identify with being a Nasty Woman in the face of recent and ongoing threats to women’s rights." Self-identifying nasty women are invited to submit artwork to the show to be sold for $100 or less, with all the proceeds going towards Planned Parenthood. While the exhibition will be free during the day, Friday and Saturday nights will feature concerts that benefit the Callen-Lorde Community Heath Center and the New York Immigration Coalition on Friday and Girls for Gender Equity and SisterSong on Saturday.
January 12th - January 15th, Knockdown Center, 52-19 Flushing Avenue
Health Care Justice Rally
Donald Trump and Paul Ryan might be plotting to dismantle ObamaCare and Medicare to replace it with a series of coupon books for all Americans, but that doesn't mean you still can't rally for a single payer option. Medicare for All advocates will be gathering in front of Trump Tower to do just that, and who knows, it might even scare a few Republican legislators into defecting. A boy can dream...
FREE, January 13th, 4 p.m., Trump Tower, 725 5th Avenue
Queens United Against Trump Rally
What better way to make an egoist like Trump feel some shame then by joining up with a rally where his home borough tells him to go screw? So head to the Jamaica Colosseum Mall for a rally against the rhetoric that Trump and America's resurgent far-right have turned mainstream, and meet up with some like-minded folks you can build a larger movement with.
FREE, 1 p.m., January 14th, Jamaica Colosseum Mall, 89-02 165th Street
Poets Against Trump
So, you know, reading poetry about how Trump is a piece of shit and you hope Jared Kushner gets cholera isn't the same as marching in the streets against the police state. On the other hand, damn, look at this inspiring picture of Woody Guthrie. Maybe you've got something inspiring to say, maybe you just want to hear some inspiring things said to you. Either way, Poets Against Trump will be gathering folks on the front steps of City Halls across the country, and New York is no exception. Go forth and snap, man.
FREE, 1 p.m., January 15th, City Hall
Plan B: A Benefit For Planned Parenthood
It's going to be a challenging four years, so you may as well get your laughs in while you can. In the first of the month's two big comedy benefits, the likes of 2 Dope Queens' Phoebe Robinson, SNL's Julio Torres, and The Chris Gethard Show's Jo Firestone will tell you some jokes, some of which might not even be about our coming right-wing nightmare, with proceeds from the show going towards your friends at Planned Parenthood.
$20, 7 p.m., January 16th, The Bell House, 149 7th Street
Bay Ridge March Against Hate
Hate crimes are up in the city since the election, so the people of Bay Ridge are joining together with their neighbors to speak out against them on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Starting at the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge, marchers will move up Fifth Avenue, all to show that "Trump’s rhetoric against Muslims, immigrants, women, people of color, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ community, workers and the environment do not represent the values of the Bay Ridge community."
FREE, 1 p.m., January 16th, Islamic Society of Bay Ridge, 6807 5th Avenue
#GetOrganizedBK
Like he's been doing since the election, Councilman Brad Lander will be getting together with any citizens who want to show up and talk through ideas on how to resist the Trump agenda or meet other activists.
FREE, 7 p.m., January 16th, Congregation Beth Elohim, Corner of Garfield Place and 8th Avenue
No More Deaths Benefit Art Auction
Could you sad bare walls use some nice art to spruce things up a bit? Well, even if that's not the case because you've already got a ton of art, buying one more piece at this benefit couldn't hurt. The night's proceeds from ticket sales and art sales will go towards No More Death/No Mas Muertes, a group that directly assists migrants as they cross the border rather than just leaving them there to die. Plus, beyond the chance to hobnob with Downtown art people for a good cause, you can also eat and drink courtesy of Roberta's, Bloomer Creek Vineyards and Alphabet City Brewing Company.
$25, 7 p.m., January 18th, Salon 94 Freemans, 1 Freeman Alley
Stand Up With Mary Review
Mary Review, a magazine written and produced completely by women invites you to hear stories about defiance from writers and activists like Subway Book Review creator Uli Beutter Cohen and the New York State Youth Leadership Council's Angy Paola Rivera. Then, stick around to hear a panel discussion about how the press can hold the government accountable featuring journalist Masha Gessen and others.
FREE, 7 p.m., January 18th, The Ace Hotel, 20 West 29th Street
Resist Trump: Student walkout and rally on Inauguration Day
The Democrats are alright I guess, but if you're sick of compromise, you can do worse than joining up with the Socialist Alternative for a march against the border wall, DAPL, and sexism, and in favor of Black Lives Matter and taxing millionaires.
FREE, 5 p.m., January 20th, Foley Square (111 Worth Street)
The UNaugural Ball
Down in DC, oil lobbyists and weapons salesmen and other merchants of deaths will be eating little cocktails weenies and posing for pictures with each other as they talk about how they'll get rich off of human suffering at one inauguration party or another. Where there's darkness, there must be light though, so if you've got the scratch for a fancy black tie ball and want it to go towards something good, hit up the UNaugural Ball, where 100% of the money from ticket sales will support the ACLU, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Resources Defense Council and Planned Parenthood.
$100-$250, 9 p.m., January 20th, The Bowery Hotel, 335 Bowery
Nasty Women and Bad Hombres
That being said, if you don't have black tie-ball money, I get it. If you want to help Planned Parenthood and still have a good time though, you can hit up the back room at Freddy's, where $20 gets you in to a burlesque and comedy performance. Just think about how much Mike Pence hates the open celebration of human sexuality. He hates it so much.
$20, 8 p.m., January 20th, Freddy's Bar, 627 5th Avenue, Brooklyn
Anti-Inauguration Ball
If you were wondering how the city's free jazz and experimental jazz community, this anti-Trump party on Inauguration Day should tell you. This marathon concert and dance party featuring the city's best free and experimental jazz artists is free to attend, but will have laptops set up allowing you to donate to organizations like the ACLU, LAMDA Legal, Planned Parenthood, Hollaback!, and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
FREE, 7 p.m., January 20th, DiMenna Center for Classical Music, 450 West 37th Street
WHAT A JOKE: A National Comedy Festival Supporting The ACLU Inauguration Weekend
The month's other big comedy benefit will help out the ACLU, which can usually use a helping hand anyway and will really need more funding to fight a president who is openly contemptuous of press freedoms. You've got three chances to get some laughs and help out the cause, at shows around the city. First, on Friday January 19th, you can catch Janeane Garofalo, Emily Winter and more comics at The Stand for $40. On Friday, January 20th, the likes of Josh Gondelman, Jo Firestone and Brett Davis will help you look for laughs on Inauguration Day at The Annoyance Theater for $15. And finally, for $20 you can see six comedians, including Laurie Kilmartin and Dave Hill, who'll help you laugh through your dark thoughts on day two of the Trump administration at Rough Trade.
Women's March On NYC
Can't make it down to DC for the big march? Don't worry, you can participate in this localized version of the Women's March on DC. The Women's March on NYC will start in Midtown East and move up to Trump Tower, where protestors will make themselves heard non-violently. There are also plans for speakers and music according to the organizers, so look for more information on that going forward. Also make sure you register, so you know what time to show up exactly.
FREE, 11 a.m., January 21st, One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
Tower, Tournament, Fur Helmet, Fostercare, The Wilful Boys
At this Planned Parenthood Benefit not only can you listen to a bunch of rock and roll for pretty cheap, but you can also benefit yourself by winning a variety of raffles (which will also benefit Planned Parenthood, like some kind of virtuous cycle). Raffle sponsors include places like Allied Tattoo, The Levee, Anchored Inn and Worship, so if you want to help out but you also want to look cool or get drunk, this is the benefit for you.
$12, 8 p.m., January 27th, Shea Stadium, 20 Meadow Street
Before The Wall: A Benefit To Support Immigrant Communities
Shilpa Ray is a great rock and roll artist, and ordinarily I would always recommend going to see her. But especially when she's rocking out to benefit SAPNA, an organization that assists South Asian immigrant women with their health and economic opportunities, and Women for Aghan Women, a group that advocates for Afghan women both in Afghanistan and New York City.
$12 - $50, 7 p.m., January 27th, Littlefield, 622 Degraw Street
Are we missing YOUR anti-Trump organizing effort? Shoot a message to [email protected] and I'll thrown it on the list.
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