PHOTOS: In Rio, protests against World Cup mark Stonewall riots

By Activestills June 30, 2014 | Edit

Football can be a tool for social change, one protester says, but the poor people here cannot even participate in the games. ‘We are not just LGBT. We are also workers, blacks, women and we can not disconnect from the other social movement.’

Photos & text: Keren Manor and Mareike Lauken/Activestills.org

Activists take part in a demonstration against the world cap also marking 45 years to the Stone Wall attack, June 28, 2014. (Mareike Lauken/Activestills.org)

Activists take part in a demonstration against the world cap also marking 45 years to the Stone Wall attack, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 28, 2014. (Mareike Lauken/Activestills.org)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — A few hours before the dramatic game between Brazil and Chile in the World Cup on Saturday, thousand of demonstrators marched past the FIFA Fan Fest on the Copacaban beach of Rio de Janeiro, the second in a series of actions dubbed, “Our cup is on the street.” In addition to protesting the World Cup, the event had another purpose. Saturday was the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn riots, which are credited with launching the modern LGBT rights movement. To commemorate Stonewall, organizers turned the event into an anti-homophobia march in addition to its social agenda.

At first glance, the march appeared to be a fun and colorful gay pride parade but the signs and the slogans told a more complex story, one protesters explained is inseparable from the context of the World Cup and the oppression of gender, sexuality, race and class.

Activists take part in a demonstration against the world cap also marking 45 years to the Stone Wall attack, June 28, 2014. The sign reads: "we want to be champions in health, education and safety. not just in football". (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

Activists take part in a demonstration against the World Cup also marking 45 years since the Stonewall riots, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 28, 2014. The sign reads: “We want to be champions in health, education and safety. Not just in football”. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

Activists take part in a demonstration against the world cap also marking 45 years to the Stone Wall attack, June 28, 2014. "Choque de amor"- choque is the police anti protest troops. letters means: "troops of love". (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

Activists take part in a demonstration against the World Cup also marking 45 years since the Stonewall riots, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 28, 2014. “Choque de amor”. Choque is the police anti-protest unit. The signs translate to: “Troops of love”. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

Jobe, an activist from Niteroi, a city in the state of Rio de Janeiro explained:

We are not just LGBT. We are also workers, blacks, women and we can not disconnect from the other social movement. We need to come together and join forces. I don’t want my taxes to be invested in these games but rather in social services like health, education, public transportation and housing rights. We are not against football but the World Cup is good for enterprises that come to Brazil and exploit it.

The government evicted thousands of people from their homes so that the foreigners could have a nice reception. All the changes in the city were made for the foreigners, because they have the money. It is not being done for the good of the people in the street. The minimum salary here is around 720 reals (240 euros or $330). The poor people cannot even participate in this event.

Football, and every other sport, can be use as a tool for social change; we could be here on the street, playing football and enjoying ourselves. Football is also a tool of resistance for those people who don’t have much opportunity in life. FIFA commercialize and privatizes football, therefore promoting inequality.

Activists take part in a demonstration against the world cap also marking 45 years to the Stone Wall attack, June 28, 2014. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

Activists take part in a demonstration against the World Cup also marking 45 years to since the Stonewall Inn riots, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 28, 2014. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

Jobe holds sign during a demonstration against the world cap also marking 45 years to the Stone Wall attack, June 28, 2014. (Mareike Lauken/Activestills.org)

Jobe (interviewed) holds a sign during the demonstration, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 28, 2014. (Mareike Lauken/Activestills.org)

Activists take part in a demonstration against the World Cup also marking 45 years to since the Stonewall Inn riots, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 28, 2014. (Mareike Lauken/Activestills.org)

PHOTOS: In Rio, protests against World Cup mark Stonewall riots

Activists take part in a demonstration against the World Cup also marking 45 years to since the Stonewall Inn riots, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 28, 2014. (Mareike Lauken/Activestills.org)

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TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence. We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies. This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza. We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives. Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

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