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Photos: Angelenos Rally Against The Dakota Access Pipeline In Pershing Square
Angelenos are really giving the First Amendment some exercise this week.
After nearly a week of protests following the election of Donald Trump, denizens of our fair city are again demonstrating in the public square, albeit with more sage and minus all the "Nasty Woman" signs. Several hundred took to Pershing Square Tuesday afternoon to show their solidarity with those at Standing Rock, and to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline. Chants of "water is life" echoed through the diverse crowd, and speakers urged attendees to get to North Dakota and join the fight.
Elia Lucio and Kasan Rae, both 22, told LAist that they had just come back from Standing Rock for the second time. The women, who both have native backgrounds, said they had dropped out of school to protest the pipeline.
"My mother is Native American," said Rae. "This is long overdue," she continued. "The oppression and rape of Mother Earth, and of women, it's got to stop."
"We fear that if we don't get President Obama to rescind the permit for the Army Corps of Engineers now, we'll have no chance when the new administration comes in," actor Justin Long, 38, told LAist. "It's a symbolic show of force. If we can come out and make the case that corporations can't interfere with basic human rights, then that's a stand we have to take," Long said, underscoring the need to amplify the voices of the "historically and criminally marginalized people" who will be most affected by the pipeline.
Actors Kendrick Sampson (How To Get Away With Murder) and Charlie Carver (Teen Wolf, Desperate Housewives) were also in attendance:
Made you look :) #istandwithstandingrock pic.twitter.com/Jb8kKCk97Q
— Charlie Carver (@Charlie_Carver) November 15, 2016
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