A massive anti-war protest happened today in downtown SF calling for no war on Iraq. The crowd stretched continuously from the foot of Market St. and filled the Civic Center to capacity.
On an unusually warm, very clear sunny day, in San Francisco, January 18, 2003, people of all ages and colors slowly moved up Market Street, starting at 10:30 a.m. on a grand peace march that was estimated at 350,000.
I would like to emphasize that ALL age groups were in attendance and people of ALL colors were also there in great numbers. We have NO generation gap or ethnic gap in the peace movement.
The labor contingent included the longshore workers, the ILWU; a teachers' union delegation from Los Angeles, a flight attendant's delegation, the hospital workers' SEIU 250, the gay/lesbian labor organization Pride at Work, the Operating Engineer's union and members of various other labor unions and their supporters.
The National Lawyers Guild was there to remind us of how to defend ourselves in this fascist era against the fascist "Patriot" Act and the Gestapo Homeland Security, and the need to restore the Bill of Rights.
The ambience was very serene and determined. The imagination of the artists provided for a wide variety of signs and costumes and the musicians entertained all with their Fiddlers for Peace group, drum corps in the African, Asian, Native American and European traditions, and many a capella singers who led us all in various songs. I had the pleasure of accompanying one man who did a beautiful rendition of "All we are saying is give peace a chance" repeatedly a capella or accompanied by his tambourine or on his flute.
At the Civic Center, we were entertained by the still gorgeous voice of Joan Baez, and later by the popular Bonnie Raitt. The speakers included Green Party President of the Board of Supervisors Matt Gonzalez, United Farmworker vice-president, Dolores Huerta, actor Martin Sheen and many others.
The fabulous literature tables guaranteed that this writer came home with little money and lots of fabulous books and magazines.
Brother Martin certainly must have loved San Francisco's peace parade in his honor as we all experienced a sense of community that is rare in our profit-maximizing society. I hope he enjoyed our rendition of "Happy Birthday" to him for his 74th birthday this month.
As late as 4 p.m., when the sun finally fell below the warming level, the Civic Center was still filled with thousands of people enjoying our peace community.
