from Kimber Heinz, War Resisters League
Hi all,
We’re only one week away from the May 3rd direct action for nuclear disarmament at Grand Central Station!
Below you’ll find the most up-to-date version of the scenario and you can find information at http://www.warresisters.org/node/960 about the War Resister’s League’s presence throughout the weekend at the international conference for disarmament and the May 2 international march for nuclear abolition and environmental justice.
Please note that if you plan on participating on May 3, you need to come to the scenario review session for the action, which will be held on Sunday, May 2 from 5-7:30pm at The Gallery Room, Holmes Community House, Community Church of New York, 28 East 35th Street (between Park and Madison). If you cannot make it for some reason, please send me an email at kimber@warresisters.org>.
There will also be a nonviolence training for folks who are new to nonviolent direct action or need a refresher on May 2 from 9am-12pm at the Refectory, Union Theological Seminary, enter on Broadway at 121st Street, Manhattan.
Please email with thoughts our questions and please RSVP if you haven’t already + let us know if you plan on risking arrest.
Thanks so much and see you next week!
In solidarity,
Kimber
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Monday, May 3rd NPT Direct Action Scenario:
7:45am, Meet at the corner of Vanderbilt Ave. and 43rd St. to distribute signs and t-shirts. (Not all signs will be distributed at first and there will be someone(s) carrying extra in case the majority of the signs/banners/leaflets that we have with us at the beginning of the action are confiscated by the police)
8am, Walk over to at Grand Central Station, NYC
Gather around the center clock kiosk. First group of people should include a number of people prepared to assert their right to be there to the police and interact with them, and—if necessary—push that to the point of arrest.
Assuming that arrests do not happen, people will continue to march in a circle in the center of Grand Central Station with signage—skulls with nuclear facts on them as well as signs emblazoned with our messaging (“Disarm Now: Start with U.S.,” “Disarmament Begins at Home,” “The Possession of Nuclear Weapons is Indefensible,” “Fight Terrorism: Disarm the Pentagon,” etc.)
A smaller number of people from this group (perhaps people willing to risk arrest) will be responsible for unfurling and holding a big banner that will raise a central message—something that engages people to think about the NPT talks and what it means to be living in a nuclear world: “Peace without Nuclear Weapons—Begin with U.S.”
If the arrests happen, we need to identify a small core of people to move the bulk of the action outside and stage it in front of Grand Central Station.
Leafleting will be happening throughout this time both inside and outside GCS.
At 9am, we will begin a banner drop. Four (two pairs of) vertical banners with a simple message (1) Nuclear Weapons 2) Terrorism/3) Less Talk 4) More Action) will be unfurled from the balcony of Grand Central by people risking arrest (These people should not be wearing t-shirts for the action). We discussed having four or eight people responsible for getting these banners out. We need to identify someone who will take pictures of the banners. If the police allow us to stay in GSC without problem, another group of action participants risking arrest will stage a die-in at this time.
The folks marching in a circle should continue to do that (rather than watch the police arrest the banner-droppers) and members of that group should also be attentive to the warnings of the police, who could want to clear the room of everyone involved in the action.
The “non-arrest” group should continue to circulate until 10am, and then leave and disperse.
Roles for the action:
* Police liaisons
* Legal observers
* Leafleters
* Sign dispensers and collectors
* Photographers
* Non Arrest Action Facilitators
* Arrest Action Facilitators
—
Kimber J. Heinz
Organizing Coordinator
War Resisters League
339 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10012
phone: 212.228.0450 x12
fax: 212.228.6193
<mailto:kimber@warresisters.org>kimber@warresisters.org
<http://www.warresisters.org>www.warresisters.org