The Battle for Pittsburgh

Protesters wear masks of world leaders and hold signs that say “No Time to Talk Poverty” to illustrate their grievances at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh last week. (Flickr/NathanEckstrand)

“By order of the Chief of Police of Pittsburgh, I hereby declare this an unlawful gathering,” said a recorded message broadcast from speakers atop armored police vans. “I order all of those present to immediately disperse … If you stay in this area, you will be subject to police action that may cause injury.”

Protesters heard this announcement 20 minutes into the protest on Sept. 24 as they attempted to make their way to the downtown area to protest the G-20, a meeting of 20 countries’ finance ministers and central bank governors designed to “discuss key issues in the global economy.” Those marching paused to consider the proper action—some moved closer to the police barricade, others went down an ally to find another path to downtown. Still others remained where they were and shouted slogans, demonstrating unwillingness to leave the area. The police repeated the announcement in Spanish and moved closer to the protesters. Finally, several protesters grabbed a garbage bin and rolled it toward the police. The standoff broken, the police turned on their sound cannon and fired tear gas into the crowd.

Similar scenes were repeated throughout the week in Pittsburgh as police clashed with protesters over their right to demonstrate during the G-20 summit. As world leaders met in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, protesters from across the country rallied in Pittsburgh to provide an alternate voice on issues of economic and social justice worldwide.

“It is important for people to get out and voice their opinions on issues like free trade and globalization,” said Mitchell Kruchten, an activist in his early twenties from Minnesota who videotaped the protests on both Thursday and Friday. “The politicians in Washington and across the globe do not represent us on these issues.”

Before and during the protests, groups organized several events to raise awareness in the community of the G-20’s history and policies. Among those events were a mock trial of the G-20 leaders for failure to provide food and shelter for the majority of people in the world, a panel discussion with labor leaders and activists from Latin America on the effect free trade has had on the global south, and a screening of the documentary Terrorizing Dissent that explores the nature of police tactics used during the 2008 Republican National Convention.

Joseph Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University and Nobel Laureate, laid out his perception of the problems with the G-20 at a panel discussion sponsored by the Nation Institute. According to Stiglitz, the G-20 has historically followed a neo-liberal economic model that was directly responsible for the economic collapse last year.

“We were saying to most Americans: ‘Don’t worry if your income is going down, consume as if it’s going up,” said Stiglitz. While the economic situation is not as bad as it could be, he said, we have yet to fix the problems that caused the recession. Instead, Stiglitz said, the United States needs to take a leading role in the G-20 to improve conditions in developing countries and end climate change. “We are in a situation where a delay is becoming extraordinarily costly,” said Stiglitz.

Protestors planned major marches on Thursday and Friday last week; the latter was the only one officially permitted by the city of Pittsburgh. While mostly peaceful and orderly, the protests resulted in isolated incidents of vandalism on Thursday as protesters attempted to reach the downtown. Throughout both days of protest, the police coordinated a helicopter overhead and hundreds of officers in riot gear. By the end of Thursday, police arrested 66 individuals and sprayed others with tear gas. Police also used a sound cannon (also known as a Long Range Acoustic Device that blasts loud, focused sounds at crowds in order to distract or disperse them) in what is Pittsburgh city officials believe is the first time a sound cannon has been used publicly in the United States.

“More people would be out here if not for all the fear mongering,” said one student who wished to remain anonymous. “The police force here is excessive. They are making protesters out to be violent when they are not.”

Police mobilized upwards of 4,000 officers for the G-20. Some officers came from the Pittsburgh’s police force, but many others came from the Pennsylvania State Police in one of the largest deployments in the agency’s history. Several of those present on Friday lamented the strong police presence as disproportionate to the danger the protesters represent.

“The vandalism from the protests on Thursday is less than the vandalism that resulted from the [Pittsburgh] Steelers winning the Super Bowl and the [Pittsburgh] Penguins winning the Stanley Cup, yet you didn’t see this type of police presence,” said Joshua Zorich, a native Pittsburgh citizen. While not an advocate of vandalism, Zorich hopes that people who see the protest will consider the positions of the protesters before making deciding one way or another about this issue.

The Friday protest group was comprised of a diverse collection of anarchists, anti-war activists, Free Tibet activists, socialists, college students, teachers, unions, and independent concerned citizens. The demands the protesters brought forth were as diverse as the crowd itself and included corporate accountability, an end to global poverty, universal healthcare, action on global warming, and an end to the war in Afghanistan.

“We need healthcare, education, and housing,” said Deb Malatesta, a volunteer with the ANSWER coalition, which co-sponsored the Friday march. “The global economy isn’t working for the majority of us. It is all about superpower countries and corporations.”

Friday protesters carried signs with slogans such as “Education is a Right,” “You are 20 of 7 billion,” and “We say no to corporate greed, we say yes to human need.” One group carried a dove made from white fabric. As demonstrators walked downtown, rows of police blocked the sidewalks while Pittsburgh citizens watched the protesters and took pictures with their cameras. Almost all stores were closed, and some went so far as to board up their windows and doors.

A small contingent of people showed up at the protests on both Thursday and Friday to shout slogans at the people protesting the G-20. These included individuals carrying signs supporting the G-20 and others carrying signs and megaphones opposing abortion.

Many protesters were pleased with the turnout—many estimate that this protest was the largest turnout for a protest in Pittsburgh since the 1970s. While not expecting a direct response from the leaders of the G-20, many saw the protest as a way of making sure alternative views were heard not just in local news, but across the country and the globe.

“Local struggles are important,” said Malatesta, “but we need to have a say on global issues as well.”

Nathan Eckstrand is a graduate student in philosophy at Duquesne University. In the past he has written for newspapers in Indiana, Virginia, and Boston.