Jo Freeman: Five Days in DC Where the Post-election Protests Were Puny but the Politics Were Not

After voting on Tuesday, I took a bus to Washington, DC. My reasons were personal; my timing was not. I wanted to watch the returns at one of the few places hosting a live election-watch dinner: the Woman's National Democratic Club near Dupont Circle.

Right by SlowKing4: This is an image that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America.

I quickly discovered that this election was as much about protest as politics. The local bus from Union Station was stopped at 9th St. by a police blockade. A 30-square block area around the White House was closed to cars to give space to protestors.

I got out and walked west on K. St. where I saw building after building boarded up. Some was the result of the George Floyd protests in June. A lot was new, in anticipation of election unrest. In June, fires had burned the lobby of the AFL-CIO building and the basement of St. Johns Episcopal Church on 16th St.

As I passed McPherson Sq., one of the two Occupy DC hotspots in 2011-12, I saw several white tents and a stage. Days later I learned that these were put up by Bond Events, a female-owned event production company hired by the People’s Watch Party. PWP is a new coalition of 20 progressive groups which came together to produce an election day party on BLM Plaza.

Black Lives Matter Plaza covers two blocks of 16th St. north of Lafayette Square that were turned into a pedestrian mall in response to the June protests. The DC government painted Black Lives Matter in 35 foot yellow capital letters from K to H Streets and DC’s Mayor officially renamed it on June 5. It has become the protest center of the Capitol. The stretch of Pennsylvania Ave. in front of the White House used to be the place to protest but is now inaccessible. After protestors were teargassed in June to clear Lafayette Square so the President could walk across it for a photo-op, the National Park Service erected a towering fence to keep people out. The fence became a gallery for protest signs and art.

As I neared 16th St. I heard what sounded like white noise loud enough to wake the dead. A truck with a band on top was proceeding east with signs saying Count the Votes hanging from the side. At 16th St. several hundred people were milling around, looking for something to do. The PWP street party was scheduled to begin at 8:30.

At the WNDC, expectations for a blue tsunami were high. When everyone left at 11:30 p.m they were not. Many states were still contested, but the Trumpsters had turned out in force, perhaps persuaded by all the clamor about a looming Democratic victory.

Wednesday I went to a labor rally at McPherson Sq., which is one block from BLM Plaza. There were only a couple hundred people, so social distancing was easy. Bond Events employees were passing out snacks and sanitizer. Posters were plentiful.

Right, Statue in Lafayette Square, photo by Benoît Prieur

Different coalitions have formed under such names as ShutDownDC and Protect the Results so it’s hard to tell who is behind what. RefuseFascism was there in force passing out its orange stickers and signs saying Trump/Pence Out Now. It is a front group for the RCP (Revolutionary Communist Party) and has been doing this for years. A couple of people were there from PLP (Progressive Labor Party) with t-shirts that said "Let’s Smash Capitalism Together."

Thursday I was back at BLM Plaza. Spaced out on the Plaza were little pods of media, waiting for something to happen. Many were from other countries in different time zones. A few hundred people were still partying, with drums, food, and lots of signs.

The heavy black fence along the north side of Lafayette Square had a thick, iron mesh so fine that you couldn’t see the park behind it. It was still covered with signs, most with a BLM theme. My feet were tired but my camera had a good time.

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Jo Freeman: Five Days in DC Where the Post-election Protests Were Puny but the Politics Were Not

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