MASSIVE ANTI WAR PROTEST HELD
IN NATION'S CAPITAL ON
MARTIN LUTHER KING WEEKEND

By Donna Lamb

n Saturday, January 18^th, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, between 200,000 and half a million people braved the numbingly cold weather and converged on Washington DC to tell the Bush administration that they vehemently oppose a war on Iraq. The protest was sponsored by the International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) Coalition and endorsed by thousands of organizations across the nation. The Washington Post called it "the largest anti-war demonstration here since the Vietnam era."

The demonstrators, who came from over 200 cities in almost every state, represented a cross-section of people of all ages and backgrounds. They traveled from as far south as Florida, as far north as Idaho, and from every state on the East Coast. Signs and banners bore the names of such grassroots organizations as Peace Action from Michigan, Vermonters for Peace, Fayetteville North Carolina for Peace, Teachers Oppose War at any Cost from Chicago, and the South Carolina Peace Resource Center against War on Iraq.

People representing diverse religious denominations took part, as did students from hundreds of colleges and universities throughout the country. The Gray Panthers and the Raging Grannies were present as well. They were all there to express their outrage about a war that they believe is for the big oil interests, not for democracy. They want the billions of dollars that would be spent on bombing the innocent people of Iraq to go instead for jobs, education, housing, healthcare - meeting human needs right here in this country and repairing our damage to other countries and peoples instead of harming them.

The demonstration began with a rally on the west side of the Capitol Building. Among the speakers who addressed the huge crowd were Congressman John Conyers; former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney; presidential candidate Al Sharpton; Brooklyn Council Member Charles Barron; Rev. Jesse Jackson; Rev. Herbert Daughtry, Pastor of Brooklyn's House of the Lord Church; Viola Plummer, head of the December 12^th Movement and actresses Jessica Lange and Tyne Daly. A message from Congressman Charles Rangel was also read.

The signs and banners of the protesters spoke eloquently as well. Most were simple but powerful: "Killing Iraqi Children Won't Make Us Safe," "Blacks Refuse To Be Cannon Fodder" "Money for Schools, Not for Bombs!" and "Reparations Not War." Some made statements about the person carrying it such as "Average Guy Against the War" and "I Am a Peace Monger," while others asked questions: "How Many Lives per Gallon?" or "Why Not Destroy OUR Weapons of Mass Destruction?" There were also quotes from the Bible like "Blessed are the peacemakers" and from Martin Luther King, such as "A time comes when silence is betrayal."

Following the rally, the protestors marched to the Washington Navy Yard, a massive military installation located in a working class neighborhood in Southeast Washington. There, a short closing rally took place before the protesters disbanded to begin what, for most of them, would be a very long trip home. It was a trip made, however, with the satisfaction of knowing that they had helped make it a little harder for the Bush administration to deny that there is a substantial number of people in this country totally against its murderous intentions in Iraq.

Donna Lamb can be reached at dlamb@gis.net.

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