POW at Washington Coliseum: Mayday 1971

One woman with “POW” written on her back stands in front of several thousand others bedding down for the night inside the Washington Coliseum Monday, May 3, 1971.

 

“There was no water to drink. The food that came in was donated by friends and volunteers and was passed thru the front doors. If someone wanted to go to the bathroom, he would be led to a lavatory by a policeman,” --an attorney for the defendants–The Daily News 5/5/71.

 

They had been arrested during an attempt to shut down the federal government earlier in the day by blockading streets leading to the federal enclave in the city. Over 7,000 were arrested.

 

The Mayday Tribe, a loose knit group of individuals, collectives and affinity groups, organized an attempt to shut down the U.S. government in Washington, D.C. in protest of the continued war in Indochina May 3-5, 1971 through the use of non violence civil disobedience.

 

For more information and additional images, see

 

May 1: flic.kr/s/aHsk5GV1JM

May 2: flic.kr/s/aHsk5CKtKq

May 3: flic.kr/s/aHsk5bjYqk

May 4: flic.kr/s/aHsk64GugT

May 5: flic.kr/s/aHsk8e3sU3

 

Photographer is unknown. Courtesy of the D.C. Public Library Washington Star Collection © Washington Post.

 

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