Inauguration Day ‘Rally for the Planet’ at RI State House was also a celebration of MLK Jr.'s legacy

“We cannot afford to surrender to powerlessness and hopelessness, so what can we do?" asked Representative Stewart. "We live in a small state and that means we can have a big impact locally."

Enduring the bitter cold and a scant two hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, well over 200 people gathered on the south steps of the Rhode Island State House as part of the Rally for the Planet, organized by Climate Action Rhode Island (CARI). In a press release, Brad Campbell, President of the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), noted that,

“In a divisive and graceless inaugural address and pledged executive orders, President Trump has outlined a vision and agenda promising more illness and death from dirty vehicles and power plants, increased peril from extreme weather and wildfires, more savaging of public resources for private gain, and new dangers for communities denied opportunity and belonging for centuries.

“To the extent the Trump Administration seeks more efficient and just systems to protect the nation’s natural and human communities, Conservation Law Foundation will work with the president’s appointees to find common ground, however improbable that may seem. Barring that, Conservation Law Foundation has lawyers ready to stop Trump’s worst, in court if necessary, and will press New England’s leaders to provide the bold leadership needed to protect our health, environment, and climate that won’t be forthcoming from Washington.”

CLF was one of many co-sponsors of the rally. Here’s the video:

“This is our moment to create lasting change,” said Jeff Migneault, Co-President of CARI. “It’s clear that climate change is impacting our families, our communities, and our way of life. We see it in hotter summers, stronger storms, and even the food we grow. While the incoming administration will try to deny or even accelerate the problem, Rhode Islanders know we can’t afford to wait. We need bold action to protect our environment and build a better future for everyone.”

The contrast of Trump taking power on Martin Luther King Jr. Day was not lost on speakers. State Representative Jennifer Stewart made that tension the center of her speech:

“As I was preparing for this afternoon I I have to admit I was feeling pretty down. It's the MLK Jr Holiday, but it's also a Presidential Inauguration Day and I was feeling pretty bad as I dwell on that frustrating dance we are often forced into - you know that dance - one step forward then two steps back.

“But then I realized that there's actually a kind of hope in that - while it’s Inauguration Day it's also the King holiday. Today is an opportunity to keep my self-pity in check and and maybe it's something like that for you too - to choose to be inspired by King's example along with the example of so many others and to recommit to working for a better, just society.

“As we celebrate Dr Martin Luther King Jr there are a few things that I think we should remember you as we contemplate our choices in the days and weeks ahead.

“First, we must remember that King never acted as a lone individual. Instead, he was one leader in a large and diverse movement - part of a long tradition seeking liberation for Black people in the United States. As much as he was an extraordinary person - and we know how our culture likes to promote the myth that extraordinary men are the only ones who've ever made anything good happen - this holiday is about honoring a movement comprised of just about every kind of American in its long history, including women and children.

“Although some people like to act like everyone shared the dream of the civil rights movement and the freedom struggle, let's remember that King's moral Vision was condemned during his lifetime as radical, communist, and unamerican. Let's remember the violent threats that targeted him throughout his life of activism - until he was finally murdered. He was attacked by ordinary White supremacists in the South and in the North as well, targeted by the FBI who aimed to neutralize him through Cointelpro, his house in Montgomery was firebombed while his family was inside and law enforcement never even investigated the crime. Ten years later, when King went to Chicago to campaign against housing segregation and redlining, he was confronted by mobs of white people he described as more hateful than anything he had seen, even in Mississippi and Alabama.

“Folks like to remember the “I Have a Dream” speech but they forget that in the same year that he gave it - 1963 - he was jailed in Birmingham for protesting segregation. From that jail cell he identified moderates as presenting one of the biggest obstacles to progress because they were more devoted to order than to justice and to negative peace where tension is absent instead of a positive peace where justice is present.

“And let's also remember that King spoke out against U.S. imperialism long before it was popular. In 1967, at a Riverside Church in New York condemning the U.S. war on Vietnam, King warned that ‘a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.’ In response, both the Washington Post and the New York Times published editorials criticizing the speech, with the post noting the King speech had ‘diminished his usefulness to his cause, to his country, and to his people.’

“Let's remember that in 1968, the year he was assassinated, National polls showed 75% of Americans disapproved of Dr King.

“Most of us have never faced the kind of repression that King and other of his colleagues faced things must have looked pretty bleak at times for him and members of the movement. Today, even though things look bleak in Washington, we cannot stop fighting for what we know to be right as so many of us as so many said before me and so many are going to reiterate after me despite intransigence of decisionmakers and signs of spiritual death all around us - after all the U.S. defense budget is the biggest in the world, bigger than the budget of several countries combined - while we have our fellow Rhode Islanders living outdoors in freezing temperatures.

“We really cannot afford to surrender to powerlessness and hopelessness, so what can we do? We live in a small state and that means we can have a big impact locally. We can demand, like Rep Morales said, expanded funding for RIPTA. Rep Morales spoke of the funding deficit - right over $32 million. We know we can't care for our environment if we don't have a viable and robust transportation system that provides reliable transportation to our jobs, schools, medical appointments, shopping, and all the things and places that we need to do and places we need to go.

“Let's remind people ow they have to do the right thing. So if you want Governor McKee’s phone phone number, I have it. You can give that man a call at 401-222-2080.

“What else can we do? Well, you know I live in Pawtucket, but I care about what happens in Providence. Do you know we have communities that share common struggles? As someone who lives in Pawtucket, I support the closure of scrap metal operations and other chronic polluters that have been harming families in Washington Park and South Providence for years. We suffer the same problems of environmental racism in Woodlawn, part of the district that I represent in the House. These are working class communities of predominantly people of color. These communities suffer from some of the highest child asthma rates in the country as Providence City Councilmember Sue Anderbois said, so we know what has to happen: Those operations have to close.

“We have seen significant victories in response to year years of organizing by The People's Port Authority and others. We need to keep up the pressure and put a stop to polluters in the Port of Providence. Do you need Mayor Smiley's number? I have it. (401) 421-2489.

“Here's one more thing we can do. We can save Morley Field in Pawtucket. Despite Community opposition, the City of Pawtucket has continued to plan to pave Morley Field, the only public recreational green space in the densely populated neighborhood of Woodlawn. They plan to make that park into a parking lot and that is another example of environmental racism targeting an historically underserved community and we have won some significant victories to slow down and reduce the scope of their plans, but we have to do more to finally put their lousy plans to rest and create a green space that Woodlawn deserves.

“Can you call Mayor Grebien? I have his number too 401-728-0500 x281.

“In closing, let's not dwell in despair. Let's remember examples of King and members of the Black Freedom Movement who insisted on keeping on. Our communities need us and that's where we can make the biggest difference during the next four years. Some people won't like it and that's okay. One day they'll act like they supported us all along just like they've done for King and the Civil Rights struggle. And even if they don't fully learn what King and others tried to teach u,s we'll just have to keep pressing on with the lessons. Let's do something. Let's do it together, and let's see ourselves as just the latest chapter in the struggle to make the U.S. finally live up to its ideals.”

Rally for the Planet was organized by Climate Action Rhode Island and cosponsored by Citizens Climate Lobby, RI Democratic Women’s Caucus, Audubon Society of Rhode Island, George Wiley Center, Sunrise Movement, RI Working Families Party, Climate Jobs RI, Conservation Law Foundation, RI Transit Riders, Green Energy Consumers Alliance, Indivisible RI, Climate Conversations, RI Environmental Education Association, and Student Action for Sustainability.