Around 5 PM Friday evening members of the DC Anti-War Network (DAWN) joined protesters from all over Virginia, Maryland, and DC, outside of the Dulles Hyatt Hotel at 2300 Dulles Corner Blvd., in Herndon, Virginia, Upon arrival activists learned that various groups of people had entered the hotel throughout the afternoon, and just as DAWN activists had on Thursday, they had been escorted off the property. There was a spirited rally out in front of the Hyatt until about 9 PM during which many more fliers were distributed to guests, employees, delivery personnel, and passerby's. Except for the cars whose drivers were clearly there for the conference, many with Confederate Flag and other right-wing, White Power bumper-stickers, most people were supportive and outraged that the Hyatt was hosting such an event, Many guests expressed outrage and planned on switching hotels, but only after they let other guests know! Many more promised to call the Hyatt, and express concerns, trying to pressure them into never again hosting a White Power conference.

Throughout the evening a few conference attendees came out to harass us, taking photos of activists and driving by videotaping us. One of the men who came out was Dan Roodt, who is one of the leaders of the Pro-Afrikaans Action Group (PRAAG) which publicly denounced the end of Apartheid in South Africa. While Dan was speaking with one of the protesters, a couple of folks came out from the hotel and started yelling at Dan for inappropriately taking photographs of their children in their swim suits while they were in the pool. This was later reported to a police officer who was harassing activists, but he didn't seem all that interested.

There were a number of mainstream press crews there who did interviews with a variety of activists. One of them said as soon as the camera stopped rolling, "Now that the camera's off, I have to tell you all, I was just inside and its scary as shit!" They said they were only planning on running the story if they could do it in an "unbiased" manner, and yet still make the American Renaissance look like the evil, White Power organization they are. We determined that this would be easy, just quote their website (www.amren.com/conference/conference06.htm). The American Renaissance does not hide their racism, they are proud of it.

We called it a night shortly after 9 PM, planning to return early the next morning. Herndon is home not only to the biannual American Renaissance Conference, but it is the home town of the Herndon Minutemen organization. The Minutemen is a racist organization with chapters all over the country. They spend their energy fighting immigration and attacking, frightening, and intimidating immigrants around the country. There project in Herndon is to oppose the city-sanctioned Day Labor Office, were many low income workers, including many immigrants, go to find work for the day. For months the Minutemen have had the Labor Center under attack, taking photographs of laborers and their perspective employers, taking down employer vehicle license plate numbers and using other scare tactics against both the workers and their perspective employers. There had been much discussion both among activists and in the media about how the Hyatt's hosting of a White Power conference in Herndon would only give added momentum to the racist agenda of the Minutemen. As such there was concern that folks from the conference would head over the the day labor office before the conference began to harass workers and their employers. Thus on Saturday morning, activists from DAWN as well as other groups and individuals gathered at the day labor site from 530 AM until just after 8 AM, ready to create a human barrier between the workers, who have as much right as anybody else to make a living and feed their families, and the racists who may show up to try to stop them from doing just that.

Luckily, for whatever reason, the Minutemen took the day off (perhaps they were all at the conference), and day laborers were able to go to work without facing the hateful disturbance of the Minutemen's presence. One activist who spoke extensively with workers while we were there learned that the folks who run the day labor site had informed the workers the day before that the conference was happening, and they were prepared for the worst. They were instructed to be as non-confrontational as possible for their own safety and well being.

Once it became apparent no MInutemen were coming, (they were probably all attending the conference) the activists decided to head back over to the Hyatt Hotel. When we arrived we joined a group that had already gathered on the sidewalk by the main entrance. With banners, signs and loud chants, we marched through the parking garage to the conference entrance of the hotel. We were met at the entrance by a police officer and a Hyatt employee in a suit. We were informed we were trespassing and asked to leave the property. We very very slowly allowed them to escort us back to the sidewalk, while yelling "The Hyatt Hosts Racists," "Nazi's Not Welcome," and other anti-white power slogans to guests coming and going from the hotel. The goal of this was consistent with our messaging all weekend which was to hold the Hyatt accountable for hosting racist events. We also gave fliers to every car and delivery truck that drove by as we were leaving.

We spend most of the day there on the sidewalk in front of the Hyatt, Members of the mainstream press came and went, interviewing individuals for short sound-bytes or newspaper articles. One of the common messages folks were portraying both the media and to neighbors and passerby's was that the Hyatt must be held accountable for their actions. It was clearly articulated throughout the weekend that most people knew we were not going to change the minds of the biggest name white power activists from around the globe. The goal of the action therefore, was to convince enough guests to complain and switch hotels, and to create enough negative attention on the Hyatt to ensure this is the last year they support a White Power conference.

As the day went by and people came and left, our numbers fluctuated, sometimes as many as three dozen or more at a time. Waves of people would arrive, attempt to enter the hotel, and be escorted out, or else would be seen talking to us on their way to the hotel and not even be allowed onto the property. In one such case mid morning, an African-American man drove up and having read our signs said, "where are they? Where are those racists?" We pointed towards the Hyatt and he stepped on the gas, driving right past the three police cars parked along the hotel entrance road. A police car followed him quickly, and a police truck showed up on the scene minutes later. He was on the Hyatt grounds for five or ten minutes at most, and not being able to see the front entrance to the hotel from the road, we began to get nervous that he might be arrested if he made a scene.

Finally, we saw his vehicle returning from the Hyatt, and he pulled up to the curb to say hi. He told us that he had gone in and tried to get a room for him and his wife, but was thrown out for inquiring about the White Power conference. After a short discussion about what happened he decided to move on so the police couldn't complain about his vehicle stopped on the road way. He got about half a block away from the hotel entrance when three police cars put their lights on a sped after him. A number of activists followed on foot, hoping that their witnessing and photographing would lesson the police harassment of this innocent local man, guilty only of dissenting while black.

The car had been pulled over one block down from the hotel, and by the time we got there, there were ten police cars gathered having come from all directions. Many officers were out of their cars, wandering around the street and verbally harassing the driver. Protesters gathered on either sidewalk, as well as on the raised median strip between the two directions of traffic. Photos were taken and the police were questioned loudly about why they were harassing this innocent man and asked repeatedly to let him go. The police were asked why they were detaining this individual, what crime he had committed, and the only response was that he had not used his blinker leaving the Hyatt. It was clear they were just looking for someone to harass.

The two individuals from DAWN who were on the median were face to face with cops, asking them why they were protecting the White Power leaders and harassing this innocent local resident. They were asked how it made them feel to be working on behalf of a neo-nazi organization which preached hate speech against themselves, their families and friends. The activists on the median, who had earlier been told the median by the hotel was public property (just like the sidewalk) and that they could be there all they wanted were now threatened with arrest if they did not leave the "roadway." During the commotion a number of local residents came out of their homes and joined the activists in demanding the police stop harassing this gentleman, who lived in their neighborhood. We talked to them both about the police harassment of their neighbor, as well as about the conference at the Hyatt. They were outraged at both.

Once the police had gotten all of the activists to the sidewalk, they ordered the driver to move his vehicle into a spot tucked away, out of sight of the activists on the main roadway. The activists quickly followed on foot, and continued taking photos and demanding the police stop harassing the driver, who at this point had been removed from the vehicle and was continually facing harassment by at least half a dozen officers at a time.

Eventually, as the crowd of activists and neighborhood residents grew, the police presence decreased and finally they just left him alone. There followed a long discussion with him and his family and friends about mutual aid, solidarity, and tactics of resistance against white power and police brutality. Hugs, laughs, cries of outrage, encouraging words, and thank you's were shared between activists and local residents before the group, now joined by a couple of local residents including a very politicized young child, returned to the entrance of the Hyatt. Not ten minutes later, the same police officers who had been blatantly harassing a local man who happens not to be white, were driving in and out of the conference escorting wealthy, White Power leaders to and from their racist meetings.

As the day wore on, the police presence grew as conference attendees drove in and out of the Hyatt taking photos and videos of us, attempting to intimidate us. The remainder of the afternoon consisted of distributing fliers to passing by vehicles, and chanting "you forgot your hoods" and "go home racists" anytime cars drove by that were clearly driven by white power individuals. By early afternoon, members of DAWN returned to DC. Other activists remained at the hotel throughout the afternoon, and many planned to return Sunday morning (the conference ended Sunday at noon). Members of DAWN, though only getting 3 or 4 hours of sleep Friday night, returned to DC to cook a giant pot of chili which was brought, for the second of many Saturday evenings, to the Canadian Embassy to be shared with the folks that still live there. Numbers of folks staying in the vicinity of the Canadian Embassy are dwindling, which unfortunately is more likely a product of police brutality and harassment than of progress towards a homeless-free DC. We'll be back at the Canadian Embassy with another meal next Saturday.

We are still strongly encouraging people to call the Hyatt Hotel (numbers below) and express your concerns. The more people who complain to the Hyatt (both the local office and the corporate headquarters in Chicago), the less likely they are to host the American Renaissance hate conference again.

Please call both the Dulles Hyatt Hotel and the Hyatt corporate office!
Hyatt Dulles Hotel Local Number: 703-713-1234.
Hyatt Dulles Hotel Fax Number: 703-713-3410
Hyatt Corporate Headquarters: 312-750-1234 (in Chicago)