Saturday, April 20th in Washington, D.C. was a day of images.
It was tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people marching together for peace and an end to war. Local police reports said up to 150,000; televised news reports said 50,000. The middle eastern conflict certainly ended up dominating the agenda of the day.
It was turning every corner in downtown Washington around the White House and finding a seemly larger march taking place.
It was a peace festival swirling through the streets of power, of puppets and children and flags, of people of every age and gender, of drum circles and anarchist cheerleaders, banners and signs, of many many people of middle eastern background. It was quite an experience walking at the tail end of the march as it rolled through the streets and along sidewalks up toward Congress, staying a few steps ahead of the police as they recaptured the streets from the protestors who for a few hours had liberated it to the people.
It was listening to one fiery speech after another, of hearing Amy Goodman act as emcee in the shadow of the Washington Monument, reading a powerful message from the Bishop of Detroit, of seeing an elderly Dan Berrigan once again speaking the truth about war, only for him to be upstaged by the dancing and signing Grandmas for Peace from the Women International League for Peace and Freedom. It was hearing from people who had just returned from witnessing the destruction of Jenin.
There was certainly a lot of anger at the Israeli on Palestine. There was much pointed criticism on Israeli, and praise was limited to Israeli peace activists, particularly the individuals refusing to serve in the occupation and attack. Anger was especially noticeable from protestors of Middle Eastern origin, though condemnation was universal, with sharp denunciations of Israel, Bush and Congress ringing out from protestors and speakers throughout the day. Most of the sharpest anger however was for Sharon than at Bush, with many denouncing Sharon as a war criminal. People were also clear to express their pride at being American. Anti-Semitic language was noticeably absent from the protests, and a number of Jewish groups participated to show their support for a halt to U.S. military aid to Israel.
It was inspiring to see the pride and determination of Americans of Middle East descent gathering to speak out for peace, call for a halt to the attacks on Palestine, of seeing entire families walking together in their best calls to call for peace, to see the commitment of both the local police and the protestors to keep peace and avoid the violence. The police presence was far less pervasive and intimidating than the recent World Economic Forum in NYC, though it was apparent that the police department was out in full force. They generally maintained a low level of intervention however, content to allow the marchers to control the streets as long as things remained orderly.
The Greens, a member of the 9-11 National Emergency Network which had organized the United We March events, was visible both at the Monument rally and the march to the Capitol. More than a 1000 greens had registered as attending in advance, from more than 40 states and colonies.
(I interviewed Party Co-Chair Anita Rios from Ohio and National Political Coordinator Dean Myerson for my radio show on WRPI, 91.5, Green Indie Report, Weds. 5 to 6, along with taping other protestors and speeches. The show is also available on the internet, www.wrpi.org, though technical quality on the web is not high. It concludes with an interview with Grannies for Peace and Black Radical Congress, along with a passionate closing statement from the Valedictorian of the University of Berkeley, who had organized a protest on middle eastern policy of the graduation co-speaker, Secretary of State Madeline Albright.
Greens from New York, Maryland, DC, Pennysvalnia, Texas, Connecticut and elswewhere were visible throughout the day, with many Green Party state banners being held aloft in the march to Congress. The Green Party of the US had also made Green Party poster signs available on sticks that were visible throughout the breadth of the march. The one suggestion I heard was that it would be helpful to have a green table at the rally site on the Mall following the March on Congress. Green Party Co-Chair Ben Manski also was one of the highly visible organizers and speakers during the march.
The Indy Media movement was also visible throughout the day, particularly on the T-shirts of the mainly young men and women interviewing protestors on the street. Video cameras were everywhere. Mainly missing were reporters from the mainstream television and newspapers, which provided perfunctory coverage. The first unofficial police report I heard, though admittedly from a street officer to a protestor, was 150,000. The national NPR news that night was limited but good, but without an estimate. Early television reports were 50,000. Mainstream newspapers on Sunday morning said 20,000. IMC sites said 75,000 to 150,000.
The first demonstration I attended on Saturday morning took place in front of the Hilton Hotel at T St. and Connecticut, where Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was allegedly speaking later that evening (now apparently some other Israeli official will deliver the speech, a few days from now). The event was slow to gather momentum, with hardly a presence with about a half hour to go before the demonstration, and police presence noticeably subdued for a site where the Israeli prime minister was scheduled to speak. However, the number of police had increased dramatically in the last half hour with finally a bus pulled up to unload a group of Middle Eastern protestors from Buffalo
The protestors from throughout the start were peaceful, though chants broke out soon after unloading, and grew in intensity throughout the day. They were very upset with the Israeli's attacks on Palestine. Props included a stretcher bearing the individuals killed in Jenin. The group called for a cut to military aid to Israeli, a position articulated throughout the day. The group concentrated on creating a visible presence for individuals driving by.
At this point, the DC Chief of Police arrived and was warmly greeted by several protestors. The Chief also went out of the way to say hello to passerbys. One had the sense from the start that both the police and protestors intended to cooperate. The police chief and many of the officers were African-Americans. Many of the protestors, especially at two of the larger marchers, were protestors of color from the middle east.
As the protest moved off about a half hour later through the streets of DC toward the White House, it was seemingly joined by new arrivees and converts at every intersection. The protest grew at every step, expanding to fill dozens of city blocks. The City shut down to watch them pass (though of course the important people had escaped for the weekend). The group seemed generally "non-political," with its prime focus seeking to rescue the Palestine people. Working people, taxi cab drivers, wait staff, security stood in support and pride as the protest marched by.
Cries of protest literally shook the structure of Washington as the protestors' chants reverberated off the walls of concrete and were amplified to the point of a physical presence as they went through a tunnel under Dupont Circle By the time the march arrived at the White House is had swelled to more than ten thousand people. The police, which had established a three block no access zone around the White House, stepped back to allow the protestors to gather in Lafayette Park across the White House.
Just as the march departed of Lafayette Park, a group of about twenty black men dressed in military fatigues suddenly appeared, joining the end of the march, shouting anti-Israeli slogans. The crowd and police noticeably tensed at the sudden appearance of this group. It seemed designed for maximum publicity though the group was tightly organized. However, after a few minutes tension levels returned to normal as the mass of the protestors swirled ahead
Another larger rally which I just caught a glance off took place that morning in the ellipse on the other side of the White House. The group, which also seemed primarily of people of Middle Eastern origin, had a huge video screen to project the speakers to the audience. Signs were everywhere. I could not tell if this was the rally organized by the ANSWERS coalition which took place that morning, with rallies and protests taking place in a constant swirl of speeches and marches.
There was a third rally occurring that morning across the street at the Washington Monument. This was the rally of the initial coalition which called the peace demonstration for April 20th, and was composed more of traditional peace and student organizations. This rally was broadcast live by Democracy Now and other community radio stations, was hosted by Amy Goodman. At its formal spot, it appeared that several thousand had gathered at a stage to the side of the Washington monument. Speakers included Ron Daniels of the Center for Constitutional Right, Rev. Phillip Berrigan, and representatives of organized labor, green and student groups. However, the rally continued to grow as more buses from the northeast east, Ann Arbor, Texas arrived, and when it moved off to March to Congress, the Washington monument was surrounded in a sea of humanity.
Most of the protestors joined together for a march to the Capitol in the early afternoon. The march was notable for its size and for the fact that the police pretty much gave the protestors control of the streets between the White House and Congress for over an hour. One of the highlights was youths and children ascending in large numbers on a huge statute along the side of the root, as the police good naturedly debated among themselves whether to intervene, particularly as one group appearing to participate in the national day of protest on marijuana laws. A number of protestors also paused to have their pictures taken in front of the Justice Departing; Attorney General John Ashcroft was a frequent target of chants throughout the day.
Walking down the middle of the boulevard leading up to the White House was an empowering experience for many of the protestors. For a few minutes, the people had liberated the halls of power, and one had the sense of the possible if those few minutes were ever to turn into reality.
In NYC at the WEF protests, the police had penned the protestors in at every opportunity, with line after line of police directly challenging protestors and motorcycles with their noxious fumes herding the protestors. In DC, there was force less of a sense of a crackdown by the policy military state. Police were content to outline the boundaries of the protest and to allow the protesters to direct themselves within those confines. The police leadership was far more relaxed and in control of their emotions that the NYC leadership. The police clearly avoided confrontation throughout the day and served as tour guides for many of the protestors.
