As I mentioned in an earlier post, I went downtown on Saturday afternoon to protest the passage of proposition 8 and show my support for the GLBT community. We all gathered between the US Capitol and the National Museum of the American Indian. Although the significance of the gathering spot was supposed to be the US Capitol, I also thought it was very telling that museum for the American Indian was right there because they also represent a group of people who have a history of fighting to ensure their civil rights are recognized by the American Government. Furthermore, the peaceful philosophy promoted by so many Native Americans is also something that we hoped to implement while conducting our peaceful march through the city.
Since the weather forecast was calling for severe rain right about the time the protest was supposed to start, I didn't really know what to expect in regards to crowd size. When I arrived, however, there was a large crowd of about 1,000 people who were already holding signs, chanting, and listening to speeches various people were giving. As the crowd continued to grow it was telling how diverse the activists were. There were straights, members of the GLBT community, college students, older couples, families, and people of all races who wanted their voices to be heard.
more, including video, below the fold
While we waiting to start marching there were lots of chants of "Homophobia's got to go" and "What do we want equal rights when do we want them - now," but my favorite was "Ain't no power but the power of the people 'cause the power of the people don't stop." I liked this chant because it not only rallied up the crowd but it served as a reminder that we actually do have to get out and let our voices be heard if we want change in the positive direction to be implemented. The chant also gained more meaning as "the power of the people" didn't stop when the rain started pouring on us while we were marching from the Capitol to the White House.
During the march the response we got from the public was largely positive. There were quite a few tourists who seemed to be seeing a protest for the first time and were a little shocked, but we also got a large number of waves and honks from people in their cars. I was very pleased to see that even people who were stuck in traffic waiting for us to get by were actually waving and giving us a thumbs up while only a very few people were shouting negative comments.
The area right outside the White House where many protesters usually go was blocked off as they were sitting up for the inauguration, but we gathered in a little park right outside the White House and, despite being drenched, people continued chanting as the whole crowd filed in. Eventually people grabbed megaphones and started telling their stories which ranged from speeches designed to pump up the crowd to others that reminded us of what we were fighting for.
In the long run, I think this protest can serve as a step in the right direction but only if the community remains strong and reminds Congress and local governments that the GLBT community deserves equal rights. I brought along my little video camera to the event and snapped some footage along the way. While I imagine other people might have gotten some footage, the following video has some of the highlights of the event.
Be must continue the pressure, the visibility, and the action to influence our legislators and leaders at the local, state, and federal levels.
Equality Fairfax, in fact, is beginning a "Month of Action" this week. I'll post more on that later. We need everyone who cares about GLBT equality, including our straight allies, to help us make sure Northern Virginia's elected officials sit up and take notice of what we need to accomplish here in Virginia: a statewide anti-discrimination law for all public employees.
Thanks again for the great diary.