By Ryan Grewal, city editor
On Tax Day, the government asks working Americans to relinquish a portion of their wages. This year, however, thousands gathered on April 15 in Cambridge Common to ask something of their president: Accountability.
The New England Independence Movement, along with other local activist groups, organized Saturday afternoon’s “Tax Day Rally” to call on President Donald J. Trump to release his tax returns. The rally was part of the national Tax March, which included 200 protests across the country, according to the national organizers’ website.
“When we have a president who talks about hiding his tax returns and not being transparent about his actions, we have to look at why,” said Cassandra Bensahih, the executive director of Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement and a speaker at the protest. “We have a president that lies.”
Some of the protest organizers led the crowd in anti-Trump chants and songs.
“No more secrets, no more lies. Release your taxes, show your ties,” the crowd chanted.
Some of the speakers and protesters also criticized Trump’s policies and rhetoric. Gerard Teichman, an adjunct instructor at Bunker Hill Community College, came to the protest to stand against the high U.S. military spending.
“If the budget for military spending was more in balance with infrastructure spending and housing, then it would be more fair for everyone,” Teichman said.
Many of the protesters held signs with messages lambasting Trump such as, “What are you hiding crooked Don,” “Humpty Trumpty shall have a great fall,” “Make cheat-o pay” and “Impeach the moron.”
Rev. Vernon K. Walker, a case manager for the homeless shelter Boston Rescue Mission, noted the overwhelming whiteness of the crowd.
“I gotta say, I feel like a raisin in a bowl of oatmeal,” Walker said. “And we gotta fix that.”
Despite the explicit goals of the organizers, many came out simply to express their anger. Cambridge resident Samuel Kumar said the past few months of Trump’s presidency have made him very stressed about the future of the United States.
“I can’t sleep at night. I want to cry and jump. I pulled all my hair out of my head,” Kumar said, taking off a beanie to reveal his bald scalp. “He’s a clown and a criminal.”
Barbara Madeloni, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association and speaker at the protest, expressed concerns over the current budget priorities of the federal government.
“I’m really struck that we are here on Tax Day,” Madeloni said to the crowd. “Much of our taxes right now are being used for the wrong things – to send missiles to Syria, to drop the Mother of All Bombs […] The idea of taxes, the vision that we are each going to contribute to the public good, to the common welfare, that’s an amazing vision. That’s the vision we are here to reclaim.”
