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The bigots are coming (again).
Pro-Trump supporters and their extremist far-right counterparts are planning to descend upon Washington, D.C. on January 6, the day Congress is set to approve the 2020 presidential election results to solidify Joe Biden’s victory. The last time these “patriots” came to the nation’s capital, they desecrated Black churches and vandalized Black Lives Matter Plaza.
They will not get away with such acts again if Nadine Seiler and Karen Irwin has anything to say about it.
Seiler and Irwin have been camping out in a tent along Black Lives Matter Plaza for days, enduring freezing rain in order to protect the street’s signature fence that is comprised of photos, signs and mementos to the movement and victims of state-sanctioned violence, WUSA9reported. They recognize the impact of Trump’s refusal to concede to the electoral college loss and how that denial incites the bottom-feeding facet of his constituency to act out violently.
The two friends have made a pact to brave the elements in defense of the plaza until the Biden administration enters the White House.
“I have made a decision that I am not going to let them come into D.C. and let them intimidate me,” Seiler told WUSA9. “I last saw them here in December with garbage bags, calling what we have here, ‘just garbage,’ and intent on taking it all down.”
Seiler, a Black woman from Waldorf, Maryland, and Irwin, a white woman from Hell’s Kitchen, New York, have been deemed “guardians” of Black Lives Matter Plaza. Their efforts have been rewarded by donations from strangers, ensuring that they are able to withstand unfavorable weather conditions while carrying out their mission.
The energy these women are bringing to protect Black Lives Matter Plaza is exactly the kind of show-of-force necessary to jumpstart 2021. The coming weeks are likely to be chaotic, but it is empowering to know that everyday citizens are putting their bodies on the line to resist white supremacy at all costs.
How to support Nadine Seiler and Karen Irwin
A GoFundMe page called “Protect the Fence” has been set up to donate funds for supplies. According to the page’s description, supplies that are needed include two generators), megaphones, a PA system and weather protection supplies.
Donations will also support stipends for volunteers over the next seven weeks, transportation and emergency hotel reservations.
About the Author
Donney Rose is a poet, essayist, Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow, advocate, and Chief Content Editor at The North Star. He believes in telling how it is and how it should be
This content was originally published here.