A peaceful Anti-Fracking/Trump Protest at the Convention Center will close a day of protests: the last of 4 large-scale local protests is expected to bring together 2000+ Pittsburghers in unity.
Standing in solidarity directly outside President Trump’s fracking industry speech and campaign rally at Pittsburgh’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center this Wednesday, over a dozen local activists, environmentalists, politicians, and performers will be offering more sustainable solutions to our nation’s energy needs and other urgent issues facing our country starting at 7PM EST.
“We are disgusted that Trump is taking a break from impeachment proceedings and overburdening our local law enforcement and other city personnel near the upcoming anniversary of October 27th’s mass shooting with a commercial fracking industry speech he’s turned into a last-minute chaotic campaign rally,” said local activist and protest organizer, Jia Ji. “To offer a peaceful alternative filled with inspiring speeches, poetry, and music, we’re asking that all protesters gather with us outside the downtown convention center to say ‘Good riddance and please don’t come back!’ to Trump on his way to the airport.”
The 6:00PM Peaceful Anti-Fracking Trump Protest at the Convention Center (www.facebook.com/events/488702295191609) will be the last of four large-scale local protests during Trump’s visit to Pittsburgh, which also include:
- 8:30AM “Rally: Solidarity Defeats White Nationalism” by Bend the Arc: Pittsburgh outside the Gateway T Station, Downtown (www.facebook.com/events/997177830627317)
- 12:00PM “Defend The Water: Day of Action During Shale Insight Conference” by 14+ local environmental/political organizations at Point State Park, Downtown (www.facebook.com/events/533268290770463)
- 3:30PM “March For Truth #ImpeachandRemove” by Women's March on Washington - Pittsburgh and Indivisible Pittsburgh outside the David L. Lawrence Convention Center (www.facebook.com/events/663954710678922)
Estimated total confirmed attendance between all four protests is in excess of 2,000 people. Due to downtown road closures and heightened security, organizers strongly urge all attendees to take public transportation, carpool, rideshare, and/or walk to the protests, follow safety guidelines announced by volunteers and police, and not purposefully obstruct traffic. For those with additional accessibility needs and/or other concerns, please immediately send a message to PeacefulProtest@edeify.com.
Speakers and Performers:
Lisa Freeman is an urban farmer and a member and voice for "the oppressed". Advocate for food access and equity through the Manchester Growing Together Garden! Owner of Freeman Farms & Greenhouse, she works on supporting the rights of low income & marginalized communities that live in food desserts the right to have access to fresh food, healthy food, clean water, clean air and clean neighborhoods!
Mark Dixon is a filmmaker, photographer and activist, and a board member of the Thomas Merton Center. Mark is co-founder of NoPetroPA.com, an online resource for anybody interested in learning about how to push back against the Shell ethane cracker plant and broader petrochemical expansion in our region.
County Council candidate Bethany Hallam is a lifelong native of Ross Township in Allegheny County. She recently defeated a 20 year incumbent in a countywide race for Allegheny County Council At Large on a platform of green jobs and ending fracking in Allegheny County because everybody deserves to breathe clean air and drink clean water.
Chalk4change PGH co-founder Lorenzo Rulli is a local activist fighting to not only see the change, but be the change by engaging with every person he can. He will talk about the people directly and immediately (minority groups/POC/low-income neighborhoods and families) affected by climate change and here in PA what we can do to start giving those folks a better chance to be apart of the fight against it. He would like to get more people to come out every Friday down at the city building where advocates sit in the steps from 12-4PM weekly.
PA House candidate Emily Kinkead is an attorney and native Northsider. She has spent over a decade working on the most pressing issues facing our state and our country - money in politics, gerrymandering, healthcare, housing access, criminal justice reform, and the climate crisis. She is running to represent Pennsylvania’s 20th state House district because the incumbent’s silence on these and other important issues in Harrisburg is deafening and we need leaders in our State Legislature who will champion people over politics and morals over money.
Congressional candidate Jerry Dickinson is a Constitutional law scholar and professor who has written nationally and testified in the US Senate about the absurdity of the Trump Wall. He is also a zealous advocate for housing rights, from when he was a Fulbright Scholar in South Africa to when he started the Housing Rights Project at Reed Smith and established a Community Land Trust for some of Pittsburgh hardest working and most vulnerable families. Jerry is currently a law professor at Pitt Law, a husband to a wonderful wife, father to a delightful daughter, and a Democratic candidate for the US House of Representatives. As your congressperson, Jerry intends to be the strong loud voice of the Pittsburgh region, fighting hard to combat the climate crisis by advocating for the Green New Deal, fighting for better workers' rights and universal healthcare, and fighting to repair the damage that Trump has done to this country.
Stephanie Biersdorff, Jonas Salk Health Activist Fellow at the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, is a Jewish feminist, food justice activist, young adult cancer survivor, and believes that nutritious food is a human right. After receiving her Bachelors of Science in Horticulture in 2015, she later earned her Masters Degree in Food Studies with a focus in Food Politics from Chatham University in 2018. During her fellowship at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, her research in food and nutrition policy influenced her Master’s thesis: The Case for a “Food as Medicine” Approach by the Emergency Food System to Address Chronic Health Concerns of Food Bank Clients. Stephanie is passionate about and committed to working to help end hunger in communities of need and understands how food insecurity leads to complex health complications that continue to exacerbate the cycles of poverty for many lower income individuals. Stephanie is currently a Salk Health Activist Fellow for the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, researching the ways in which we can prevent medical errors to improve patient outcomes, save lives, and provide better healthcare for all.
Dr. Elisa Be is a Spiritual Nutrition advisor. She’ll soon be publishing a book on Spirituality & Live Food Nutrition.
Spoken word artist Mae Catino is an engineer, designer, food artist, global adventurer, city dweller, and country bumpkin. She is passionate about all things sustainability related, and finds joy in translating her learned lessons into inspiring rhymes.
Kirtan singer Melissa Franklin is a local resident, artist, and sing-along enthusiast. From Standing Rock in North Dakota, to New Vrindaban in West Virginia, it is not lost on her that fracking is happening on holy land, that all land is sacred, and water is life.
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