The women of the grassroots organization Code Pink: Women for Peace are unafraid to be bold.
Boasting pink feather boas, pink pants and even pink bras, these ladies made themselves known among other protesters during the Republican National Convention on Tuesday afternoon in Cleveland. The group stands for peace and other human rights initiatives while working to end American wars and militarism.
Code Pink activist Chelsea Byers told crowds at the Public Square on Tuesday, “the notion Islam is perpetuating extremism is a lie.”
Byers, 26, managed to sneak a “Refugees Welcome” banner into the convention center at Quicken Loans Arena on Monday night and unveiled the message during former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s speech.
Before security could escort Byers out of the convention center, others inside began shouting back at her, “U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A.”
This time flanked by a troop of fellow Code Pink members and a banner reading “Human rights for all,” Byers got a second chance to make her voice heard.
“Anytime hate takes the stage there needs to be a voice for peace,” she said Tuesday.
Code Pink was founded in 2002 as a grassroots effort to prevent the United States’ war in Iraq. According to its website, it also opposes the ongoing U.S. war in Afghanistan, torture, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, spy drones, the prosecution of whistleblowers, U.S. support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine and repressive regimes.
The group is apolitical — it supports neither political party nor the candidates individually.
Byers argued the U.S. is a country founded on immigrants. Though of course people don’t want to leave their homes, many do not have a choice in today’s world, she said.
“What are we if not welcoming?” she asked. “We must be a country of love and have open arms.”
The Arizona native said she joined Code Pink six years ago because she loved its “in-your-face” method of operation.
“It felt like home to me,” she said. “How do we talk about these stark and complex issues if not with beauty and joy?”
The Code Pink women made their way through Cleveland on Monday afternoon as well, joined together with Veterans for Peace and a slightly different message.
Instead of projecting anti-war sentiments, a parade of women dressed in pink held signs ironically boasting about their wealth with the big banks.
Ann Wright, 70, carried a sign claiming the group was sponsored “by the folks at” Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America.
“We are billionaires for Trump,” Wright said with a smile. “Billionaires run the world.”
The message was blatantly satirical, referencing “Billionaires for Bush,” a group that forged a mockery of the super-wealthy and big corporations who benefited from political policies of the Bush administration.
The women need only substitute George W. Bush for Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Wright, a former U.S. diplomat and retired Army colonel known for her outspoken opposition to the Iraq War, said pink is a “beautiful color for billionaires.”
Wright spent 13 years in the U.S. Army and 16 additional years in the Army Reserves. In 1987, she joined the Foreign Service and served as U.S. deputy ambassador in Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan and Mongolia.
On the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Wright resigned from the State Department and stated the occupation of a Muslim, Arab, oil-rich nation would be a violation of international law without the authorization of the United Nations Security Council.
In 2007, she co-authored “Dissent: Voices of Conscience,” which tells the stories of men and women who spoke out against government action they believed was illegal. Now, she spends her time as an activist for peace and has become a prominent figure in the movement opposing U.S. occupation of Iraq.
Today Wright can be found sporting an all-pink ensemble in Cleveland and advocating for peace with Code Pink and will be at the Democratic National Convention next week.
“We’re not for Trump or Hillary,” Byers said. “We are just for peace.”
