The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) closed its doorways round 4pm immediately, December 2, as roughly 700 pro-Palestine protesters staged an motion exterior the New York City establishment. The group then marched to Times Square, a refrain of voices chanting “Israel bombs, USA pays, how many kids did you kill today?” echoing by way of the streets of Manhattan’s West Side.
The occasion was co-organized by the Palestinian-led group group Within Our Lifetime (WOL) and the New York-based activist motion Decolonize This Place (DTP) and initially supposed as a two-pronged motion: a pro-Palestine rally exterior the museum adopted by an “anti-colonial tour” of its collections. In social media posts in regards to the occasion, the teams additionally cited the AMNH’s sources of funding, including the Bank of New York Mellon, which houses the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Donor Advised Fund, in addition to its giant assortment of human stays.
Ahead of the protesters’ arrival, police had shut down all visitors on Central Park West and barricaded the establishment’s entrance steps, stopping the activists from getting into the museum to host the deliberate tour. Additional law enforcement officials joined the handfuls already on the scene, together with members of the Technical Assistance Response Unit, which specialize in digital surveillance tools. Protest displays from the American Civil Liberties Union stood alongside the sides of the group answering questions and surveying the scene.
A little bit after 2pm, the activists unfurled their banners, lengthy colourful sheets of cloth bearing phrases like “resistance until return” and “from Gaza to Jenin, revolution until victory.” One black banner with the phrases “the Nakba started here” depicted a portray of the Queens Museum constructing, the place in 1947 the United Nations voted to separate Mandate-era Palestine into two states, ensuing in the violent displacement of 430,000 Palestinians.
Protesters held hand-painted indicators and placards, and a person with a cart walked by way of the early hours of the protest hawking small Palestinian flags for $5. One girl, who requested to not be recognized, held swaddling cloths in her arms in a reference to the more than 6,000 Palestinian children killed in Gaza since October 7.
“There is only one solution, Intifada revolution,” chanted the activists. “From the river to the sea; Palestine will be free.”
Harlem-based artist and comic Johnny Laveie wore a double-sided signal and provided fellow activists pens to jot down how they felt on it. By the time the protesters started marching towards Times Square, each clean white house had been crammed with phrases and phrases.
“I think as activists, we often don’t have an opportunity to take care of ourselves,” Lavaie advised Hyperallergic. “This is our job as artists: to heal,” Lavaie stated. “How do we heal the activists? How do we heal and also fight for the rights of those who are oppressed?”
A little bit previous 4pm, the group walked across the block to the museum’s Gilder Center entrance on 81st Street. Police officers frantically positioned barricades to dam entry, and an officer advised Hyperallergic the museum was closed to all guests, together with members.
WOL and DTP held the same motion at AMNH precisely one week earlier on Saturday, November 25, distributing flyers with particular places contained in the museum that they supposed to go to on their “anti-colonial tour.” As immediately, the organizers stated that they weren’t allowed entry. The museum blocked off the primary entrance, although a spokesperson advised Hyperallergic that guests had been allowed to enter by way of an alternate door.
AMNH has not responded to Hyperallergic’s fast request for remark concerning immediately’s protest and closure.
While the barricaded empty road stifled public interplay throughout the AMNH rally, when the activists started to march, drivers honked, restaurant diners nodded and cheered, and in a number of situations noticed by Hyperallergic, some bystanders voiced anger and disapproval. “Return the hostages,” one pedestrian yelled.
A barricaded and police-fortified Lincoln Center awaited the south-moving group, however the protestors bypassed it, selecting as an alternative to enter the Columbus Circle Mall throughout from the southwestern nook of Central Park. Police officers and safety guards tried to shut the doorways, however the activists pushed by way of.
The march moved rapidly, masking 40 blocks in an hour and a half. By 6pm, the activists stood in the middle of Time Square. Palestinian flags soared above the dense crowd, illuminated by neon restaurant indicators and LED billboards.
WOL organizer Abdullah Akl expressed his dismay that AMNH wouldn’t enable the group to enter the museum, emphasizing that the group had made it clear that the anti-colonial tour was peaceable and comprised a teach-in.
“[The New York Police Department] would rather close multiple entrances to one of the largest museums in the United States, just for the sake of a pro-Palestinian rally that’s not even actually disruptive,” Akl stated.
“But obviously the NYPD has no intention of our people doing that, has no intention of Indigenous people continuing to learn about their history,” Akl continued.
The NYPD has not responded to Hyperallergic’s fast request for remark.
“When we come out to places like the American Museum of Natural History, we make it very clear that they have not been representing Indigenous people, not only in this country, but countries all across the world,” stated Akl. “And we want to call them out on that.”
