Anti-Racism Movement protests ESL, Bob Lonsberry

In response to WHAM’s continued denial of accountability and refusal to have Bob Lonsberry removed from their programming, Rochester’s Anti-Racism Movement (ARM) has begun a grassroots campaign to boycott all sponsors of the Bob Lonsberry show. On Saturday, June 26 ARM held the first of many visual demonstrations intended to do just that—to quite literally hit WHAM and its sponsors where it hurts: the bank.

ARM activists and community members alike showed up to the ESL Federal Credit Union on East Ridge Road to voice their disgust at the racist, sexist, and classist remarks Lonsberry had made on his June 10th show, and also to inform ESL members of where their dollars are being spent, and what they can do about it. “The organizers are asking that people request an end to ESL’s sponsorship of WHAM until Lonsberry is fired. They are encouraged to do this by signing petitions, writing letters, and especially expressing that opinion vocally to the bank tellers and managers,” said one activist.

Beyond participating in written and vocal complaints, members were encouraged to take a more direct approach by physically removing their money from their accounts and stating exactly why they were doing so. “It’s unfortunate that this institution values my investment over my words,” said one member, “but if it takes reducing my account to one dollar for my voice to be heard, I am willing to do that.” After completing this act, the member reported back to the group about the “buzz” occurring inside the bank regarding the protest.

Besides one ESL customer who was quoted shouting, “I love Bob Lonsberry; I think they (the women in the young mothers program) should keep their legs closed!” the reception of the demonstrators ranged from neutral to positive. By the time the bank closed at 1:30, all of ARM’s leaflets had been distributed to customers, and the general feeling among the participants was one of satisfaction and success.

When asked to comment on the day’s event, ARM organizer Myra Brown spoke very warmly and honestly about the responses she was given while talking to customers. “When people are faced with their favorite personality, or something they’ve accepted to be genuine, they tend to avoid knowing that those genuine personalities (for example ESL, Geico, and Advance Auto Parts) could in-fact fund hate speech, bigotry, and outright attacks on the children of our beloved communities. And it is this avoidance—this ambivalence—that holds people back from doing right and creating a world in which we all want to live. This ambivalence is what we are attempting to break down today.”

As Saturday’s event was only the first visual demonstration of a sentiment that has been building for months, opponents of racism, sexism, classism, and institutionalized oppression of all kinds are encouraged to get involved with the campaign however they can. For more information on the Anti-Racism Movement in Rochester, please visit www.antiracismmovement.com or watch the indy.tv episode with Myra Brown here: http://blip.tv/file/1101631. To get involved with ARM, email them at fireboblonsberry@rocus.org, or call Myra at Spiritus Christi Church at 325-1180.