January 22, 2015

White Plains Soda Stream Action

Submitted by Priscilla Read
The Boycott SodaStream event from noon to 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 13, at Walmart in White Plains, NY was co-sponsored by JVP-Westchester and three other local organizations: Concerned Families of Westchester, Hudson Valley BDS, and WESPAC.  It also benefited from the support of neighbors across the Hudson, members of Rockland for a Just Peace in Palestine-Israel. The target of the action was a large Walmart situated in midtown White Plains with wide sidewalks on a busy thoroughfare.  The CEO and president of Walmart, the CEO and president of Walmart U.S., and the local store manager all received in advance the same  letter detailing our position on SodaStream and  why Walmart should follow Macy’s in de-shelving.  
The day dawned seasonably cool, somewhat breezy, but sunny.  We launched activity by noon and soon had about 25+ participants engaged in a variety of activities to raise public awareness of the issues. We had planned materials geared to the diverse clientele that frequents the White Plains Walmart, including a flyer about intellectuals and artists who’ve spoken out about Palestinian rights and one about SodaStream formatted recto/verso in English and Spanish.  Five people who had volunteered in advance to leaflet and engage passers-by were so effective that they exhausted our supply of one hundred flyers in the first twenty minutes.  Dave Lippman, the well-known Satirical Songster-Tuneful Truthteller of New York City fame, led us in seasonal songs with his own clever, trenchant SodaStream lyrics.  A group of energetic recruits, mainly beginners but infectiously enthusiastic, did an animated rendition of dabke Arab folk dance to traditional Palestinian music.  The signs, the singing, the dancing, and the sound amplification created a high-energy spectacle that attracted a good deal of attention on the street.  Unfortunately, our advance, detailed communications about the issues to local press, television, and radio produced no media coverage.
For the segue between the SodaStream event and the March to Stop Police Impunity scheduled immediately following, there had been overlap and cooperation among organizers.  JVP members had been encouraged in advance to join the marchers. Just before 1 p.m., a JVP member gave some short remarks about BDS, SodaStream, Walmart, and the purpose of our action and drew links between our efforts to fight oppression and injustice in Palestine, the struggle against racism and inequality in the United States, and the roiling protests over police killings of unarmed civilians in this country. Dave Lippman sang his “Hands Up! Don’t Shoot” ballad inspired by the issues of the day, and the swelling crowd joined in the chorus. Then, inspired by the theme: “No Business as Usual; No Christmas as Usual” and chanting “Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!” and “I Can’t Breathe,” more than two hundred marchers set out at a good clip for the Westchester Mall.  From that shoppers’ palace, the route took us to a major intersection in the center of town where we staged a die-in and then proceeded to some brief speeches in front of police headquarters.  Channel 12 News Westchester covered the march.
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 Photos of both the 1) SodaStream event and 2) the March to Stop Police Impunity by Andrew Courtney
Photos of the SodaStream event at Walmart by Len Tsou
 Photos and videos of the SodaStream event by Yoram Gelman

 

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