This Week in Resistance: Dancing, Marching, and Rallying in D.C.

Lauryn Gutierrez
On the evening of Friday, February 3, hundreds of people gathered on the plaza of Trump International Hotel to show their resistance to Donald Trump's administration via a massive dance party. The celebration was organized by WERK for Peace, a queer-based grassroots movement that uses dance to promote peace. Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire
The crowd of hundreds danced behind a truck labeled "#DanceTrumpsHate" that carried loudspeakers and party lights to keep the street party going all the way from Trump International Hotel to the White House. Image from February 3. Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire
"We are here to send a clear, clear message to Donald Trump and his administration: that we will not tolerate discrimination, hate, or bigotry in our country!" said #DanceTrumpsHate organizer and WERK for Peace founder Firas Nasr. Nasr's playlist included music from each of the seven banned countries, he said, "because those cultures are part of our fabric. The beautiful fabric that makes America great!" Image from February 3. Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire
Protesters arrive at the U.S. Capitol for the second weekend in a row to show their opposition to Trump’s discriminatory policy unleashed in an executive order nearly two weeks ago that was widely perceived as a ban against Muslims. Image from #NoBanNoWall rally February 3. Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire
Thousands of citizens and lawmakers around the country have advocated for resistance against Trump’s ban. Image from #NoBanNoWall rally at U.S. Capitol February 3. Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire
“How could you ban this face?” Trump’s ban has affected thousands of families, including the elderly, young people, and those with infants. Those who oppose the ban argue it has instigated a humanitarian crisis for refugees from the seven banned countries. Image from #NoBanNoWall rally at U.S. Capitol February 3. Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire
"My mother is banned from Assad’s Syria [because] her name means revolution and she is banned from Trump’s U.S. [because] she is Muslim.” Image from #NoBanNoWall rally at U.S. Capitol February 3. Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire
“You can’t say #AllLivesMatter if to you Muslim lives don’t.” Image from #NoBanNoWall rally at U.S. Capitol February 3. Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire
“DeVos is a bad idea.” Hundreds of teachers, parents, students, and children joined education advocates and several Democratic senators on the Upper Senate Lawn near the U.S. Capitol on Friday, February 3 to show their opposition to the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. When DeVos was asked at a confirmation hearing on January 17 about whether all schools should be required to meet the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act—a federal law—she said it would be best left up to the states, meaning that if it was up to her, states could choose to discriminate against children with special needs. Image from February 6. Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire
Dominick Pugliese, a teacher at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., was grading history papers while waiting for the rally to protest DeVos to begin on February 6. “The idea of this person being in this position is an affront,” Pugliese said of Betsy DeVos. “She's been performing below the level of my sophomores who haven’t done their homework in her confirmation hearings.”

After DeVos’ confirmation was secured by an historic tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence, Rewire followed up with Pugliese.

"My students are fortunate that their [private] high school experiences are safe from Betsy DeVos' agenda, but I'm still worried for them. Whether in a public school or not, our students have been sent a clear message that in America, money talks. And if necessary, money yells, and it yells loudly enough to drown out not only naked incompetence and abysmal performance, but also the voices of millions of concerned Americans who deserve better from their senators. There was not a grimmer job in Washington yesterday than that of the 51 people who chose to vote the party line on Betsy DeVos, despite her lack of qualifications .... I'm disappointed in Congress and look forward to paying more attention to education policy for the next four years than I ever imagined I would.” Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire
Betsy DeVos infamously remarked at her confirmation hearing on January 17 that schools should be able to decide to have guns in classrooms to "protect from potential grizzlies." Many schoolchildren attended the rally urging just one more senator to change their vote from “yes” to “no,” which would have prevented DeVos’ confirmation as Secretary of Education. Image from February 6. Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire
President Donald Trump granted Dakota Access an easement on February 9, dealing a devastating setback to opponents of the pipeline who fear for their sacred lands and for safety of the water supply of over 17 million people.

An emergency “last stand” #NoDAPL rally outside the White House was swiftly organized that same day, led by Eryn Wise (pictured center left) of the Indigenous Youth Council. In this image, a representative of Grassroots Global Justice Alliance tells the crowd: “This is our planet. Humanity depends on us. The greatest power that exists in this world is of the people! We come from generations of resistance.” Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire
A Native activist spreads prayer incense among those gathered at the emergency #NoDAPL “last stand” as Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. of the Hip Hop Caucus addresses the crowd: “When you put profits over people, that is not the American way! That is fascism at its best. This is a crossroads of America, to see who really matters. Do the people in the boardrooms matter? Or the people in the streets?” Image from February 8.
Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire
“Whatever momentum we have, we can’t let it end at Standing Rock. We need to build the intersectionality of the movement,” said Eryn Wise of the Indigenous Youth Council, not pictured. “We haven’t lost. Regardless of what happens, we’ll still be here. And we remember everything.” Image from February 8. Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire
“I’m not being paid to protest—but I wish I was." An activist looks for humor in Trump surrogates’ claims that the recent surge in protests nationwide was fueled by funding from large organizations. Image from outside the White House February 8. Lauryn Gutierrez/Rewire

Protests continued in great numbers throughout the Trump administration’s third week in power in Washington, D.C. The party-line confirmations of controversial cabinet members Betsy DeVos, Jeff Sessions, and Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) outraged citizens and activists, and the #MuslimBan has continued to inspire large counter-movements for the second week in a row. The #NoDAPL movement suffered a crushing blow on Tuesday when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permitted the Dakota Access pipeline project to proceed, threatening the water of 17 million people and sacred lands. With a protest or vigil occurring somewhere in the city nearly every day, Rewire was on the ground to document the resistance.