On March 2, 2024, IMHO members went to Los Angeles City Hall, downtown, to show solidarity for the Palestinian people and the people and organizations who support the call for a ceasefire and to the end of the genocide in Gaza.

There were approximately 10,000 people and a large convoy of cars and vehicles that showed up for the event, according to observation and reporting by several organizations present. It would have been even larger had it not rained for the first hour of our demonstration.

Many speakers from Arab, Jewish, Latinx, Filipino, Native American, leftist, and social justice organizations spoke passionately about this movement toward Palestinian liberation. The mood was hopeful, defiant, and fiercely strong in international solidarity.

There were many unique and creative signs showing support for Palestine or opposing the leadership, governments and/or corporations complicit and active in the Palestinian genocide. There also were two long banners carried with the names of those martyred in Palestine since October 7th.

A prime example of calling out corporations supporting the genocide was an Amazon delivery truck that was vandalized with graffiti.

Chants were used to resonate with Palestinian liberation, as well as defiant cries calling out those responsible for the genocide.

A concrete example was the chant “LAPD. KKK. IOF. They’re all the same!”  IOF stands for Israeli Occupation Forces. This is an alternative moniker for the IDF, shedding a label propagandized to victimize and glorify the armed forces of a settler colonial project in the guise of defense. It also shows a distinct connection to the religious right globally, and to white supremacy and state police terror. If we understand the purpose of white supremacy and racism, there is a foundational connection in which all three entities strive to protect the ideologies and actions of a capitalist economy.

We passed out IMHO flyers. Many of those present took flyers with interest and curiosity. I had several positive conversations with marchgoers about Raya Dunayevskaya’s humanism, feminism, and revolutionary philosophy.

Overall, it was a positive, peaceful, and hopeful event in which many communities and organizations could further build connection, solidarity, and mutual aid to further the emancipation of and justice for the Palestinian people, as well as humanity as a whole, from the destructive abuses of capitalism and colonialism. There is potential. There is hope.