"Washington, D.C. is undoubtedly a historic site for progress in our nation's history. Washington, D.C. is the city it is today because of the teachers, families, laborers, and advocates in all four quadrants and beyond -- not just the Northwest. When claims to the contrary arise, the residents of a disenfranchised District notice. 

   

The latest demonstration of the community's will and power took the form of an encampment established 14 days ago on The George Washington University's Foggy Bottom campus. Without fail, the latest iteration of federal overreach and the University's never-ending monopolistic greed has come in the form of attempted supression of this show of community solidarity. 

Despite the encampment's commitment to collective liberation for all people, protestors have been accused of antisemitism. These claims are baseless, and seek to divert attention away from the devastating humanitarian crisis that our universities and our government are funding in Gaza. Many Jewish students have been involved in the organizing of this protest. There have been two Shabbat services and a Bat Mitzvah; a local synagogue has even provided a Torah scroll to facilitate these services. Our encampment has also hosted prayer services throughout Orthodox Christian Holy Week and daily prayers for Muslim community members. Additionally, chaplains and spiritual leaders from a vast array of traditions have regularly come to serve the community at the encampment. The George Washington University encampment has proved itself to be actively inclusive of people of all religious backgrounds and faith traditions -- a vision of the world we seek to create together. We fight all forms of oppression, from antisemitism and disenfranchisment, to queerphobia and racism.

We have seen time and time again that police violence has been a barrier in fights for justice, as the D.C. community endured in Lafayette Square during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. It would be a shame if we did not learn from our mistakes; oppression at the hands of the police should never happen again. Mayor Bowser and the Metropolitan Police Department have an important decision to make, and this decision should be driven by the will of the D.C. community they represent rather than by lawmakers whose scope is the nation at large. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was memorialized through the Resurrection City encampment just blocks from where George Washington University stands, taught us: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial 'outside agitator' idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider." As D.C. residents coming together at our encampment from a diverse range of backgrounds, we believe our safety is all intertwined, and we can only truly be free once we dismantle all forms of oppression. We reject the attempts to divide our country and our community by branding our fellow Americans as "outside agitators." We are united in our fight for justice and freedom around the world.

Federal entities have been attempting to "expand police power in D.C. for more than a year in ways that are inherently harmful to Black and Brown people,” said Nee Nee Taylor, co-conductor of Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, a D.C. community-based organization. Taylor continues that it is not "about the safety of people here...putting political pressure on the police has the real threat of hurting people." 

The Hands Off D.C. coalition, composed of over 50 organizations working to prevent Congressional interference in D.C. home rule, and the D.C. for Ceasefire Now Coalition have come out in unwavering solidarity with the encampment at The George Washington University. This is a testament to how, from day one, the encampment has been a collective effort composed of and led by students from across the D.C. metropolitan area. The students have received immense support from professors, alumni, parents, families, small business owners, religious leaders, doctors, and even the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education. The encampment has evolved into a newfound space of collective care, grief, and hope for people from all walks of life in the DMV. This show of solidarity, community, and devotion to justice is a testament to the collective power we wield and the resilience of the D.C. community.

As Israel continues its bombardment of the Gaza Strip and ground invasion of Rafah, against the advice of the United Nations and leading human rights organizations around the world, the government should be commending this country's students and people of conscience for their protests against our nation's complicity in these devastating crimes against humanity, not attempting to silence them. We urge you to stand in support with our community."