Diane Brenum held up a sign that stated, “Thou shalt not kill – no wars!” as she watched community members gather for a rally against military action in Iran on Saturday afternoon, February 28, at Alameda City Hall.
[1]Brenum, an Oakland resident, said she made the mistake of looking at her phone when she awoke early on Saturday morning, and was “mortified” to read the news that U.S. and Israeli forces had launched a coordinated military assault [2] on Iran.
“I am a strong disapprover of extra-constitutional action,” she said, adding that she is not surprised by the Trump Administration’s decision to escalate in Iran without congressional approval, especially after its recent actions in Venezuela.
[3]The small rally was cobbled together in just a matter of hours by Shalom Bruhn, who has helped organize numerous Alameda events in the past, including the recent “No Kings” [4] and “Hands Off” [5] protests. In communications publicizing the demonstration, Bruhn called it a “rapid response” and invited the community to “bring your signs” and “stand in solidarity.”
Just after 5 p.m., speakers and performers of varying ages and backgrounds took to a microphone in front of City Hall to voice their truths. Among them was former Alameda Poet Laureate Cathy Dana, who read a poem she wrote, entitled “What the World Needs Now.” The poem’s opening words are, “What the world needs now is a love so pure, that your heart would burst open like a thousand pearlescent petals, singing ‘welcome, welcome, welcome.’”
Dana, who also has served as a facilitator at the Alameda Community Learning Center (ACLC), continues to support a poetry club at the school and asked her students to pen their own versions using the same prompt. One of those students, freshman Nala Brock, followed her mentor in performing her own rendition.
Nala Brock, a freshman at the Alameda Community Learning Center, reads her version of “What the World Needs Now.” Video by Ken Der.
Afterwards, Brock told the Alameda Post that she was inspired to speak with Dana’s encouragement and in response to growing frustration at current events.
“It’s kind of depressing waking up and something else is happening,” said Brock. “It’s surprising how many incidents can happen over and over again with this Administration.”
Other speakers included Mary Claire Blakeman-Neumann, chair of All Rise Alameda [6], and Roan Byrne-Sarno, a senior at the Alameda Science and Technology Institute (ASTI). In his speech, Byrne-Sarno questioned the Trump Administration’s morality after airstrikes killed over 100 [7] at an all-girls school in Iran.
“We cannot ignore the murder of children, no matter how much Trump wants us to,” Byrne-Sarno proclaimed. “We must fight for them. We cannot wait for our leadership to grow a conscience—we have to.”
The rally’s final speaker, Amos White [8], an Alameda community activist, environmentalist, and artist, launched into a fiery, five-minute speech that emphasized the context and gravity of the evening’s event.
Amos White invites community members to be more politically active by offering tips on tangible next steps and upcoming demonstrations. Video by Ken Der.
The event concluded with a candlelight vigil on the steps of City Hall, with demonstrators singing “This Little Light of Mine” and “Give Peace a Chance” in unison.
As people began to disperse, Oakland resident George Han stuck around for a bit longer. Visiting Alameda for dinner, he explained he was moved to join the rally after feeling shocked by the civilian death toll and the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“I have no words,” said Han. “We just shouldn’t be doing that,” referring to the Trump Administration’s participation in regime change, regardless of Khamenei’s record of brutal leadership in Iran.
The rally’s organizers invite community members to upcoming demonstrations, including another “No Kings” rally scheduled for Saturday, March 28, at Chochenyo Park and Alameda City Hall.
[9]Ken Der is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post [10]. Contact him via [email protected] [11]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Ken-Der [12].