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News & Letters, July 2001
Central Park rally against sexism
New York--Women rallied in Central Park June 9 to say "we
are still outraged" a year after 56 women were assaulted in
the park by a crowd of men following the Puerto Rican Day
Parade. The women passers-by were doused with water, stripped
and sexually molested, while the police refused to respond to
pleas for help.
The Street Harassment Project put out a call for the
commemorative rally. Puerto Rican and other Latina groups joined
with other feminists to put on the event. Speakers included
Maria Tricoche, a Vieques activist, who said, "This has
nothing to do with the Puerto Rican Parade. It goes back to Adam
and Eve, when Eve got the blame because Adam was stupid enough
to eat the apple. The same attitude toward women appears in
every class, race and country; only the degree differs."
Another speaker was Brigette Moore of the Black Grrrl
Revolution, Inc., in Brooklyn. She read her poem z in the
October 2000 issue of Ms. magazine. It speaks of "bringing
feminism to the hood" in opposition to "forms of Black
nationalism that degrade women." "Some women say I
overreacted in my outrage against the Central Park
assaults," she said. "They blame the incident on
alcohol and heat. These people wouldn't excuse a lynching or
cross-burning because of alcohol and heat. I protest all forms
of patriarchy and misogyny, just as I protest racism."
NOW-NYC called on women and men to "stand up for your
sisters when we are being harassed or grabbed at or disrespected
in public or private places." NOW also demanded city and
federal investigations of police conduct during the incident
last year.
Mindful that some Puerto Rican groups considered the feminist
protests to be anti-Puerto Rican, the Street Harassment Project
flyer said, "Assaults and harassment of women are about
sexism itself, not any one group of men. Therefore, the focus on
the Puerto Rican Day Parade is an evasion of the truth of
omnipresent sexism, as well as an excuse to further oppress the
Puerto Rican community." Sure enough, this year's Puerto
Rican Day Parade June 10 became an excuse for police to
"lock down" the paraders and parts of the Bronx where
celebrations took place after the parade. Police beat and pepper
sprayed the crowd that evening, arresting 42 people and injuring
others. Both Puerto Rican and feminist groups condemned using
last year's assaults as an excuse to repress Puerto Ricans.
Many speakers at the rally called on men to confront other men
when they see harassment taking place, because "silence is
approval." There were also testimonials from women who had
been deeply hurt by verbal and physical attacks from strangers
in the street. All of the groups at the rally urged people to
get involved in this issue.
--Anne Jaclard
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