Boston Rebels Travel to NYC to Make Billionaires Pay

As the sun rose over Atlantic Avenue on Saturday September 20, a group of 40 activists gathered on the sidewalk outside South Station. Many of them were still strangers to each other, and friendly introductions passed around before boarding the bus. A gaggle of college students with 350.org and Make Polluters Pay, friends from Fridays For Future Cape Cod, a few bright-eyed journalists, a soft-spoken member of the SEIU 509 labor union, and our crew from XR Boston. We had gathered to travel together to New York City to participate in the Make Billionaires Pay march. The timing was intentional; The United Nations General Assembly had gathered in New York that week, and Climate Week was about to kick off. This was our chance to make our voices heard across the world.

By midday, thousands of activists from all over the Northeast crowded into the streets of Manhattan, carrying signs and waving flags to demand that the government tax the extremely wealthy, reunite separated immigrant families, divest from wars, phase out fossil fuels, end the use of sacrifice zones, and more. The weather was beautiful and spirits were high. We walked down Park Avenue, then west onto 57th street toward Columbus Circle and Trump Tower, ending outside the Tower at Central Park. Chants included "We need clean air, not another billionaire!" and "No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!"

One of the most memorable parts of the experience was walking through the high-end shopping district, chanting about bringing down the ultra-wealthy (some of the rhymes included explicit language), while shopkeepers watched us warily from the full-story windows. Sometimes we made eye contact through the glass. I've never met these shopkeepers, but I know it's likely that they live in deep Brooklyn or New Jersey and almost certainly struggle with financial insecurity. The careers they have committed to depend on allegiance to the very parasites who keep us all from prosperity.

What separates those of us in the streets from the shop attendants in those windows? If they weren’t scheduled to work at Louis Vuitton and Prada today, would they have been with us? How internalized is their loyalty to the ultra-wealthy? As we passed store after store, while I waved at an uncounted number of shop employees recording the march on their phones, I thought "I don’t know if I can believe in class traitors when capitalism has made it so difficult to be anything else." We are all, whether conscious of it or not, these shopkeepers. We are all parts of the machine of inequality. This is what the Billionaire class has done to us.

Then the march came to an end, unexpectedly, with a whisper not with a bang. As the stream of thousands pooled in front of Trump Tower, organizers called for a moment of silence for those on Earth who are already lost to monstrous inequalities. The crowd fell silent, aside from echoed chants from marchers who had not yet reached Columbus Circle. In the quiet, a crowd of police approached. They announced that participants would need to clear the streets, and then told organizers to disperse the crowd. We weren't there to tangle with the authorities, so every marcher peacefully took their leave and we made our way back to the bus together.

What did Make Billionaires Pay Accomplish?

Never underestimate the power of solidarity. While we marched among the crowd, we talked with members of the Working Families Party, Climate Defenders, Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), Sunrise Movement, The New York Immigration Coalition, Youth United for Climate Crisis Action (YUCCA), and so many more. We made new friends across the Northeastern USA who can call us in moments of need, and who we can call. We showed those in power that thousands can and will stand together.

And those shopkeepers in the windows, how do they remember that Saturday afternoon? Did they go home and talk to their children about it, their neighbors? Did they look up the meaning of Make Billionaires Pay? Perhaps next time, they will take the day off from work. Maybe they'll write up a sign to carry. Maybe they'll step off the curb and walk beside us for the first time, or for the first time in a long time. And we'll be ready to welcome them.

As for us? Journalist Amyah Bishop published her article in the Bay State Banner. Sam Mandala and Lauren Albano published their article in the Daily Free Press. A gallery of Lauren's beautiful photos from the event is available online. Our friend Sabine was the final shot of 350.org's social media round-up, and we were featured by Fridays for Future Cape Cod as well.