By Larry B and Nancy Latham
Two weeks ago, on the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 violent Republican coup attempt, Indivisible East Bay held an energized protest and rally for accountability and voting rights. With a Super Bowl halftime theme of “Democracy Bowl,” pitting “Team Freedom against “Team Fascism,” organizer Nancy Latham’s opening remarks set the stage for directing moral righteousness into action. Performer extraordinaire Ogie led us in singing a Jan 6 Justice song called “I’d like to build the world a home” (set to the tune of “I’d like to buy the world a Coke”) and also gave us a halftime ad “informercial” hawking all the actions we can take to push for prosecuting Trump and cronies and to protect voting rights (“a limited-time offer!”). Newly-elected Oakland City Council Member Janani Ramachandran connected justice and democracy with the material and discriminatory difficulties that many people face right here in our neighborhoods. She also rallied everyone to vote in the California Democratic Party delegate elections happening this month.
Many of the actions are still available—check them out here! Also check out a two-minute video with rally highlights from Talking Story Video, and read the People’s World article: “‘Democracy Bowl’ rally pits ‘Team Freedom’ against ‘Team Fascism,’” by Marilyn Bechtel. For more pictures, visit the Pro Bono Photo gallery.