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ANSWER Coalition

Parent Organization: Progress Unity Fund
(link) by No machine-readable author provided. SchuminWeb assumed (based on copyright claims). is licensed CC-BY-SA-3.0 (link)
Website:

www.answercoalition.org
Location:

Washington, DC
Formation:

2001
Co-Founders:

Brian Becker

Sara Flounders
Project of:

Progress Unity Fund

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (also known as A.N.S.W.E.R., ANSWER Coalition, or International ANSWER) is a coalition of radical-left activists that leads campaigns against American foreign policy and the State of Israel.

As of September 2022, the organization was not technically a stand-alone entity with its own IRS designation, but a fiscally-sponsored project of Progress Unity Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, D.C. All donations to ANSWER go to Progress Unity Fund. 1 Besides its D.C. headquarters, ANSWER Coalition has twelve other offices located in cities throughout the United States. 2

Background

ANSWER was founded three days after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. It claims to have “initiated” the antiwar movement opposing the United States’ invasion of Iraq prior to March 2003. 3

Besides its D.C. headquarters, ANSWER Coalition has twelve other offices: in San Francisco (its “Western Regional Headquarters”), Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Sacramento, Seattle, and Syracuse, New York, in addition to offices in Connecticut, Florida, New Mexico. 4 It also has chapters in Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Indianapolis. 5

History

Antiwar and “Anti-Imperialism” Demonstrations

Roughly one year after being founded in response to the events of 9/11, ANSWER held a demonstration against a potential U.S. invasion of Iraq on October 26, 2002, in Washington, D.C. that drew approximately 200,000 people. 6 The Washington Post termed it the largest antiwar protest since the Vietnam War era. When asked about the event, ANSWER organizer Mara Verheyden-Hilliard said at the time, “It absolutely shows that when George Bush says America speaks with one voice, and it’s his voice, he’s wrong.” 7 That protest was followed by an even larger demonstration on January 18, 2003, with an estimated 500,000 people in attendance. 8 In April 2003, ANSWER Coalition held a demonstration in response to the U.S. military’s capture of Baghdad, organizing more than 30,000 people in Washington, D.C. with the slogan “Occupation is not Liberation.” 9

While not all protest groups present at these demonstrations agreed, ANSWER was unequivocally pro-Palestinian: in April 2002, ANSWER had held the allegedly largest demonstrations in American history in favor of the Palestinian cause, with more than 100,000 protestors present. ANSWER conceives of itself as being at its core a partnership between Arab and non-Arab anti-imperialist activists. As such, it has fought for the recognition of the Palestinian cause and anti-Zionist sentiments in the wider antiwar international movement. 10

Some of ANSWER’s key issues of protest have been the U.S. and Western occupation of Afghanistan, the conflicts in and “assaults” on Iraq and Syria, drone strikes on Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia, the “illegal coup and UN occupation of Haiti,” the blockade against Cuba, and the “illegal ‘regime change’ war” in Libya. 11

ANSWER purports to be an international movement in the making. It opposes economic sanctions and blockades on foreign nations by the U.S. government and other Western countries and opposes “regime change” of all kinds. It claims that any action by the U.S. against foreign regimes is an attempt to “create human suffering” in those regions. 12

In January 2005, ANSWER established a “mass convergence site” in Washington, D.C., to protest the inauguration of President George W. Bush during his inaugural parade. According to its website, it successfully organized 10,000 antiwar protestors to come out for the demonstration between 3rd and 4th street on Pennsylvania Avenue, with thousands of other protestors allegedly blocked from entering by the Secret Service. 13

On September 24, 2005, ANSWER held a “mass march” in Washington, D.C., to draw attention to the antiwar movement’s demands. These included ending the Iraq War; ending the “colonial occupation” of Palestine, Haiti, and other regions; the recognition of Palestinians’ “Right of Return” to lands lost after the Israeli War of Independence; ending “threats” made by the United States to Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, and North Korea; ending “Racist, anti-Immigrant and anti-Labor” activities within the United States; and banning military recruiters from visiting schools and communities. 14 ANSWER claimed it was the largest antiwar protest since the War on Terror began, with about 300,000 demonstrators showing up in attendance. 15

In March 2006, ANSWER held antiwar actions in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and elsewhere. It claimed that 20,000 demonstrators showed up at the Los Angeles action. 16

In August 2006, together with the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation and the National Council of Arab Americans, ANSWER Coalition helped initiate a demonstration against the “U.S.-Israeli war against Lebanon and Palestine,” a bombing campaign carried out by Israel with support from the United States against Lebanon and Gaza in July 2006. 17 18 Signs held by protestors read: “Occupation is a crime – Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine,” “Stop Israeli terrorism,” and “No justice, no peace.” ANSWER and its affiliates allegedly had over 150 buses bring in protestors over 25 states, with protests occurring in major cities throughout the U.S. as well. 19

In January 2009, ANSWER claimed to have helped organized “hundreds of thousands” of protestors for its “Let Gaza Live!” action, a pro-Palestine and anti-Israel demonstration named “an International Day of Emergency Action” by the group’s leaders. 20

In March 2011, thousands demonstrated on the 8th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War under the ANSWER banner. Only a week later, ANSWER members demonstrated again, protesting the “bombing of Libya,” namely the First Libyan Civil War and subsequent NATO involvement. 21

A follow-up protest against the Libyan conflict occurred in July 2011. ANSWER members also joined demonstrations to celebrate May Day that year, signaling its support for socialism and the organized labor movement. 22

On multiple different dates, ANSWER protested U.S. involvement in the Syrian Civil War in September 2013. 23

In August 2014, ANSWER claimed tens of thousands of activists demonstrated outside the White House and in the streets of Washington, D.C. in protest against a “U.S.-backed Israeli massacre in Gaza.” 24

In March 2016, ANSWER members joined other protestors to demonstrate against Israel and in support of Palestine at a Washington, D.C., conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). 25

Activities

In January 2020, ANSWER joined demonstrations against the United States’ killing of Iranian General Qassem Suleimani in an airstrike ordered by then-President Donald Trump. Members from activist group Code Pink were in attendance, as was actress Jane Fonda and Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. ANSWER wrote in a post on its website: “The targeted assassination and murder of a central leader of Iran is designed to initiate a new war. Unless the people of the United States rise up and stop it, this war will engulf the whole region and could quickly turn into a global conflict of unpredictable scope and potentially the gravest consequences.” 26

In June 2021, ANSWER referred to Israel as an “apartheid” system and showed support for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), an anti-Zionist pro-Palestine campaign, for its “Block the Boat” movement which allegedly calls for the “peaceful” action to “stop the unloading of Israeli ships and cargo” in an attempt to bankrupt the Israeli economy. 27

In June 2021, ANSWER Coalition published a blog post criticizing President Joe Biden for ordering airstrikes against Syria and Iraq, claiming that the U.S. government was “once again employing the manufactured specter of Iran to justify its crimes in the Middle East.” In the post, ANSWER called the U.S. government “an illegal occupying force” with possession of “neo-colonial proxies.” It showed support for Iran Nuclear Deal reentry talks and warned that President Biden was jeopardizing his chance to engage in them. 28

In July 2021, ANSWER claimed that the United States government was attempting to overthrow the Cuban government and “bring the island back under their control.” It encouraged its supporters to attend actions protesting alleged U.S. meddling in Cuban affairs, titled “U.S. hands off Cuba!” Actions were held in dozens of cities around America and were sponsored by chapters of socialist organizations such as the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). 29

In November 2021, ANSWER Coalition joined other organizations to purchase a full-page ad in the New York Times with the headline, “LET CUBA LIVE!” It called for the U.S. blockade against Cuba to be ended and praised socialist Cuba for having allegedly “led the way in providing free healthcare for its own citizens and poor people around the world.” It also encouraged its supporters to attend protests around the U.S. to demand an end to “CIA plots” against Cuba. 30

In February 2022, ANSWER told its supporters to attend events demanding “Peace, Not War with China!” hosted by anti-war group Pivot to Peace. It was held on February 27, 2022, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the “Shanghai Communique,” a diplomatic document produced by the United States and the People’s Republic of China declaring a mutual agreement to recognize Taiwan as a part of China. 31

In March 2022, ANSWER published a blog post calling for the abolition of NATO. 32

In March 2022, national director of ANSWER Brian Becker spoke during a virtual conference regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The conference was organized by the International Manifesto Group and co-sponsored by ANSWER, the International Action Centre, Black Alliance for Peace, No Cold War, and the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War. 33

In May 2022, ANSWER announced that it would be a “convening organization” for the People’s Summit for Democracy 2022 in Los Angeles, a left-of-center gathering of activists that protests the simultaneous “Summit of the Americas,” that year hosted by the Biden administration and the Organization of American States (OAS). ANSWER called the event an “arena to push U.S. economic and political interests in Latin America and the Caribbean, without regard for the peoples of our shared continent.” 34

In August 2022, ANSWER members joined activists with the Hatuey Project to deliver medical supplies and equipment to Matanzas, Cuba, to help people who suffered burns from an oil tanker fire. ANSWER claimed that the U.S. blockade of Cuba made the situation far worse and called for the “false designation” that Cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism to be lifted by the Biden administration. 35

March Forward!

March Forward! is an affiliate group of the ANSWER Coalition. It organizes veterans who subscribe to anti-war beliefs, as well as active-duty service members who want to protest the American military and foreign-policy establishment. 36 It claims to be fighting for the rights of veterans and active-duty service members alike and it resolutely opposes any “wars of aggression” conducted by the United States, in particular the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. 37

Other Issues

ANSWER helped organize protestors for the March for Women’s Lives demonstration in Washington, D.C., in April 2004. It helped start a campaign against racial profiling in D.C. in May 2004. 38

The People’s Forum

In December 2021, ANSWER Coalition in tandem with the New Africa Institute sponsored an event at which journalists Eugene Puryear and Hermela Aregawi discussed conflict in Ethiopia at The People’s Forum, a socialist organization in New York City. 39 Aregawi, an Ethiopian-American journalist who was formerly employed by CBS Los Angeles and Al Jazeera, was invited to discuss the “misinformation” she had had to correct in the mainstream media about the conflict. The discussion specifically criticized the “false and one-sided presentation of the U.S. government and major media outlets” and sought to unveil “the real sources of the conflict.” The People’s Forum tagged the post about the event under “imperialism.” 40

Organizational Information

As of September 2022, the organization was not technically a stand-alone entity with its own IRS designation, but a fiscally sponsored project of Progress Unity Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization. All donations to ANSWER go to Progress Unity Fund. 41

According to reporter David Corn, in 2002, ANSWER was closely enough associated with the Workers World Party (WWP) that Corn felt it justifiable to call ANSWER a “WWP front.” Corn explained that several key ANSWER officials, including its spokesperson Brian Becker, were WWP members, many of ANSWER’s local chapters were hosted in WWP offices, and many speakers at ANSWER’s press conferences were WWP activists. 42

ANSWER as late as 2008 had a virtual store on its website, where it sold t-shirts and sweatshirts with Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara’s face printed on them as well as bumper stickers and pins displaying antiwar slogans. 43

Leadership

As of March 2022, Brian Becker was the “national director” of ANSWER according to a blog post by the group about a virtual conference at which he spoke regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine organized by the International Manifesto Group and co-sponsored by ANSWER, the International Action Centre, Black Alliance for Peace, No Cold War, and the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War. 44

As of February 2004, ANSWER was run by a steering committee consisting of several groups: IFCO/Pastors for Peace, Free Palestine Alliance – U.S., Partnership for Civil Justice LDEF, Nicaragua Network, Bayan USA/International, Korea Truth Commission, International Action Center, Muslim Student Association of the U.S./Canada, Kensington Welfare Rights Union, Mexico Solidarity Network, and the Middle East Children’s Alliance. 45

References

  1. “Donate.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 15, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/donate.
  2. “Contact Us.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 15, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/contact_us.
  3. “Who We Are.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 16, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/who_we_are.
  4. “Contact Us.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 15, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/contact_us.
  5. “Home.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 16, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/.
  6. “Who We Are.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 16, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/who_we_are.
  7. Reel, Monte and Manny Fernandez. “Antiwar Protest Largest Since ’60s.” The Washington Post, October 27, 2002. Accessed September 16, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2002/10/27/antiwar-protest-largest-since-60s/346741ac-04f7-4f23-a3c2-5cdd5a4998dd/.
  8. “Who We Are.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 16, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/who_we_are.
  9. “Who We Are.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 16, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/who_we_are.
  10. “Who We Are.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 16, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/who_we_are.
  11. “Who We Are.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 16, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/who_we_are.
  12. “Donate.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 15, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/donate.
  13. “Major Event at ANSWER Coalition.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/tags/major_event?page=2.
  14. “Act Now to Stop War & End Racism.” ANSWER, February 24, 2008. Accessed September 16, 2022. Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20080224130228/http://answer.pephost.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ANS_about_us
  15. “Major Event at ANSWER Coalition.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/tags/major_event?page=2.
  16. “Major Event at ANSWER Coalition.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/tags/major_event?page=2.
  17. Pear, Robert. “Rally Near White House Protests Violence in Mideast.” New York Times, August 13, 2006. Accessed September 16, 2022. Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20080113212817/http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/washington/13protest.html&OQ=_rQ3D2Q26orefQ3Dslogin&OP=7a8b186eQ2FQ26vQ2F0Q26Q3ERqDnRRxyQ26yQ24Q24gQ26Q24UQ26TQ7CQ26vQ7DDVhQ7EfxRQ7EQ26TQ7CFnRxQ2FDx@VxQ60Q27.
  18. “The country’s largest protest against the U.S.-Israeli assault.” ANSWER, August 15, 2006. Accessed September 16, 2022. Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20080212212036/http://answer.pephost.org/site/News2?abbr=ANS_&page=NewsArticle&id=7973.
  19.  “The country’s largest protest against the U.S.-Israeli assault.” ANSWER, August 15, 2006. Accessed September 16, 2022. Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20080212212036/http://answer.pephost.org/site/News2?abbr=ANS_&page=NewsArticle&id=7973.
  20. “Major Event at ANSWER Coalition.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/tags/major_event?page=2.
  21. “Who We Are.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/who_we_are.
  22. “Who We Are.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/who_we_are.
  23. “Who We Are.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/who_we_are.
  24. “Who We Are.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/who_we_are.
  25. “Who We Are.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/who_we_are.
  26. [1] Helmore, Edward. “Jane Fonda and Daniel Ellsberg protest against killing of Suleimani.” The Guardian, January 4, 2020. Accessed September 16, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/04/jane-fonda-protest-iran-trump-administration.
  27. “Seattle Block the Boat movement vs. Israeli apartheid.” ANSWER Coalition, June 19, 2021. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/seattle_block_the_boat_movement.
  28. [1] “Biden bombs Syria and Iraq using manufactured specter of Iran to justify crimes.” ANSWER Coalition. June 30, 2021. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/biden_bombs_syria_and_iraq_using_manufactured_specter_of_iran_to_justify_crimes.
  29. “Actions nationwide to demand: U.S. hands off Cuba!” ANSWER Coalition, July 22, 2022. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/actions_nationwide_to_demand_u_s_hands_off_cuba.
  30. “Nov 15 nationwide actions to demand: Let Cuba Live! NO to CIA plots!” ANSWER Coalition, November 12, 2021. Accessed September 20, 2022.
  31. Brown, Nino. “THIS SUNDAY: Events in D.C. and San Francisco to demand “Peace, Not War with China!” ANSWER Coalition, February 23, 2022. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/this_sunday_events_in_d_c_and_san_francisco_to_demand_peace_not_war_with_china.
  32. “The Untold History of NATO and Case for Its Abolition.” ANSWER Coalition, March 12, 2022. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/the_untold_history_of_nato_and_case_for_its_abolition.
  33. “ANSWER National Director speaks on The Fog of War Over Ukraine.” ANSWER Coalition, March 15, 2022. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/answer_national_director_speaks_on_the_fog_of_war_over_ukraine.
  34. [1] “Introducing the first ever People’s Summit for Democracy—this summer in LA!” ANSWER Coalition, May 22, 2022. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/introducing_the_first_ever_people_s_summit_for_democracy.
  35. [1] Brown, Nino. “Activists land in Cuba with emergency medicine delivery.” ANSWER Coalition, August 28, 2022 Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/activists_land_in_cuba_with_emergency_medicine_delivery.
  36. “Who We Are.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/who_we_are.
  37. “March Forward!” Convio.net. Accessed September 20, 2022. http://pep.pub30.convio.net/march-forward/who-we-are.html.
  38. “Act Now to Stop War & End Racism.” ANSWER, February 24, 2008. Accessed September 16, 2022. Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20080224130228/http://answer.pephost.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ANS_about_us
  39. “Report from Ethiopia: The untold story w/ journalists Eugene Puryear & Hermela Aregawi.” ANSWER Coalition, December 16, 2021. Accessed September 16, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/report_from_ethiopia_2021.
  40. “Report from Ethiopia: The untold story w/ journalists Eugene Puryear & Hermela Aregawi.” ANSWER Coalition, December 16, 2021. Accessed September 16, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/report_from_ethiopia_2021.
  41. [1] “Donate.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed September 15, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/donate.
  42.  Corn, David. “Behind the Placards.” LA Weekly, November 7, 2002. Accessed September 16, 2022. Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20081103052350/http://www.laweekly.com/2002-11-07/news/behind-the-placards.
  43. “Act Now to Stop War & End Racism.” ANSWER, February 24, 2008. Accessed September 16, 2022. Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20080224130228/http://answer.pephost.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ANS_about_us.
  44. “ANSWER National Director speaks on The Fog of War Over Ukraine.” ANSWER Coalition, March 15, 2022. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://www.answercoalition.org/answer_national_director_speaks_on_the_fog_of_war_over_ukraine.
  45. [1] “International ANSWER.” International Answer. February 21, 2004. Accessed September 16, 2022. Archive: http://web.archive.org/web/20040221074040/http://www.internationalanswer.org/endorsers.html.
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ANSWER Coalition

617 Florida Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001