The JustAct Youth of Color contingent represented one of the largest and most vocal youth of color groups participating in the shutting down of the WTO in Seattle. Considering there were an estimated 50,000 people at the week of resistance, our humble sized group of 45 activists many times felt in Seattle the way we do whenever we try to engage with the mainstream US anti-globalization movement: tokenized, trivialized, and our issues, such as the prison-industrial complex and the privatization of our teaching, marginalized.

As stakeholders of our communities, we went to Seattle to represent all the struggles against imperialist globalization that we combat against on a daily basis in the Bay Area, and to connect with other fighting forces from around the country and the world which we could share with and learn from.

Our identity as youth of color, which we had thought was our authority, isolated us in Seattle. We had a hard time finding others at WTO who looked like us, talked like us, or were as directly affected by globalization as we were as youth of color.

This "culture shock" ended once we met up with the brothers and sisters of the People's Assembly. The conference was the first time we had even heard others speaking the language of our movement. It was the first time in Seattle we heard open discussion of capitalism, imperialism, and revolution. It felt like we had met our extended family. We participated in the Youth Delegation discussion, and were elated to see that youth were not only included in the considerations and analysis of the broader People's Assembly, but were actually a vital part of the decision-making process!

At that point, we knew that the People's Assembly would be the people that we would march, chant, and celebrate with the rest of the week. On November 30th the Bay Area Youth of Color Contingent chose to join the People's Assembly March. We were motivated to support the PA by the deep sentiment of solidarity we felt, and also the fact that the PA was the most politically significant march in Seattle since it was the only action not endorsed by the local State authorities. As our march thundered down the streets of Seattle, we demanded the elimination of the WTO and showed most powerfully that third world peoples cannot be stopped when united.

The experience was an inspiration that has emboldened us all, and we look forward to the relationships which we will certainly build upon with the People's Assembly as we strive for our inevitable ultimate victory of freedom. #