Where were you on February 15?

Reports compiled by Marilyn White, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and Doug King, Witherspoon Society

[2-22-03]

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - It was a beautiful day, though extremely cold. I went with a group of Presbyterians, some of them in clerical garb. I had on a long black coat and a Palestinian stole, and I wore a large foamboard poster that said, "No to war, pray for a peaceful solution" on one side, and on the other, "Presbyterian Peace Fellowship."

I only met one man who screamed and yelled at me, "BOMB IRAQ. BOMB THEM. BOMB THEM." Most people smiled and nodded as they read my poster, and many of them took my picture. Others stopped to talk and ask about Presbyterians. Hundreds of people were walking on all the streets who had posters and signs and were there for the rally. I never saw such a huge presence anywhere. (Peggy Howland)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - There were so many of us we just filled up four avenues and marched for miles with our signs and our chanting. I overheard one policeman say, "I think they have a right to protest, and they should just go wherever they want." One thing became pretty clear: The Bush administration has lost the confidence of the people. (Tom Driver)

WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS - I decided to organize an event at noon here at Kimball Farms at our flag pole (thereby proving what patriots we are!). Our sign reads "Berkshire Seniors Say No To War!" We had a Berkshire Eagle photographer show up. (Meta Ukena)

CORVALLIS, OREGON - In rain, drenching at times and drizzling the rest of the time, about a thousand people (Corvallis has 50,000 residents) of all ages participated in the march from the Oregon State University quad to the downtown Benton County Court House. We used music, chants, signs, flags and other usual means of communication. Our member of congress, Peter DeFazio, spoke at the court house.

Far more people gave thumbs up or honked support than called us traitors. We arrived at the court house just as the tower clock struck five. The rally was planned to be incorporated into the daily peace vigil from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. Some of us have stood with our peace signs in sun and rain, heat and cold for that hour every day since bombs started to fall on Afghanistan. (Kathy Conner)

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - BiNational Service Council met in Maryville this weekend. We held a 30 minute solidarity time will all of you/us. In Knoxville between 800 and 1000 gathered. They expected about 200. (Bill Coop)

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - My wife, daughter and granddaughter and several friends joined about 7000 in downtown Raleigh on Sat afternoon for about 3 hours. With all the activity one would think that the pendulum would begin to come our way. (Lerry Chase)

GUATEMALA - Rick and Kitty and Teo Ufford-Chase were part of 250 folks demonstrating in Guatemala City!

NAPLES, FLORIDA - Most of the peace rallies around Tampa Bay (FL) are white, middle class. I had the good fortune to travel with a bus load of Africans, Hispanics and whites to Naples, Florida to join a peace rally in that very conservative area. The Africans introduced the crowd to many new chants - always emphasizing justice. i.e "No justice, no peace," "What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!" Of course they have been waiting a long time for justice. We were also joined by the leaders of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (Taco Bell Boycott). (Dwight Lawton)

DALLAS, TEXAS - More than 50 Sherman, Texas citizens and Austin College students commuted to the Dallas march (of about 5,000).. .. and visiting several rural churches the next day, we kept meeting more folks who went from the small towns around Sherman. I also know that many of our Grace Presbytery Peacemaking Subcommittee members were part of grassroots organizing in other towns around North Texas, and several helped organize the Dallas march. Friends in Oklahoma City marched Sunday afternoon to the "Jesus Wept" statue at the Murrah Bldg memorial site. (Cat Bucher)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - Mae Gautier and I both marched in the Peace Demonstration in Los Angeles on Feb. 15th. It was a great turnout of mainstream Americans. (Annabelle Dirks)

PULLMAN, WASHINGTON - About 500 attended a wonderful peace rally here in the Pullman, Washington - Moscow, Idaho area, sponsored by various student groups and the newly formed Palouse Peace Coalition. Speakers, banners, posters, signs, letter writing tables, music, literature, and a great spirit prevailed. (Walt Miller)

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - The weather was really nasty yesterday with rain coming down constantly. We gathered at Central Park and marched about a mile and a half to the federal building in downtown Louisville. Several folks from James Lees Presbyterian Church were there, as well as folks from our denominational headquarters office, including Sara Lisherness, coordinator of the Peacemaking Program. Although we can't compare with the massive rallies in other places, we thought that over 500 out for more than 2 hours in a wintry rain in Louisville was pretty remarkable.

We heard from a young man named Doug Johnson, who is going to Iraq with Voices in the Wilderness. They expect to remain there even if the US starts the attack. Other speakers placed great emphasis on the oneness of all humans. One minister said we want to blur the distinctions usually placed between Americans and Iraqis, but also between rich and poor, young and old, educated and uneducated, black and white, straight and gay, etc. It was, to me, a great affirmation of human life in protest against the destructiveness and divisiveness of war and death. (Arch Taylor)

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - In Nashville, the Peace and Justice Center called for a demonstration at an intersection between Vanderbilt and Hillsboro Village, in the part of town that is noted for accepting this sort of thing (our neighborhood is the one where there was a "God Bless All People" sign after 9/ll and where there are lots of "Wage Peace" signs during the war buildup). I counted well over a hundred on my corner, and a hard count came in at 550. And drivers often honked, waved, or gave the peace sign. (Gene TeSelle)

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO - Four thousand, five hundred plus people gathered at the State Capitol and marched to the city plaza to announce their desire for peace and opposition to war in Iraq. The marchers were accompanied by drums, puppets from street theater and thousands of signs stating their opposition to war. (Betty Kersting)

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - As our long line of marchers for peace flowed down the hill toward downtown Minneapolis, we were welcomed by the somber, joyful pealing of church bells. The Basilica of St. Mary was welcoming the protest. But others welcomed the procession, too - waving from apartment windows, honking horns, flashing the peace sign. The protest organizers estimated 7,500 to 8,000 people took part,clearly the largest gathering yet to protest the impending war against Iraq.

One young couple with three cute kids carried a sign with photos of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld, with the legend, "They're selling war." Under that were photos of the children and the line, "We're not buying." The photo of the President was the same not-very-flattering one featured in the flier that's been circulating recently with the caption, "Another empty warhead discovered in Presidential Palace." Another placard read "Peace, not duct tape, will keep us safe." (Of course we in the Twin Cities, home of 3M, can't be entirely hostile to a presidential endorsement of duct tape. Our economy can use a little boost, just like everyone else's these days.) (Doug King)

HOUSTON, TEXAS - About a dozen Presbyterians marched behind the PPF banner from the downtown federal building to a rally site along Buffalo Bayou. It was the largest turnout since Vietnam days for a peace march in Houston - crowd estimates varied from 3,000 - 5,000. This is particularly impressive because nearby towns such as Galveston held their own rallies instead of coming to Houston to swell our numbers.

We were joined by Houston's Iraqi immigrant community and dozens of other local Muslim families. There were lots of children in strollers, seniors with canes, and every age between. The spirit of the day was so buoyant that even the small counter demonstration of a dozen or so could not maintain its anger - some of them smiled and waved in response to friendly greetings from the peace marchers. (Marilyn White)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - I had planned to join a clergy group with white collar beaming but by the time I arrived at 42nd Street (12:30), the police were no longer allowing any demonstrators to go beyond 3rd Ave. We were funneled up 3rd Ave and came to a crunching halt at 50th St. We couldn't go any further north, nor could we go east. So I joined a group of Buddhists chanting "All we are saying, is give peace a chance" and later a group of Asians Against Racism and War shouting "Stand for Peace, Work for Justice." The police had us confined to pens. A couple of times mounted police charged into our group on horseback to drive us back. (Jim Palm)

DAYTON, OHIO - The Dayton Ohio picketing went off well in spite of a snowstorm. The crowd totaled about 150 and the energy level was high. (John Ewers)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - It truly was a wonderful day. One of the highlights for me was listening to Desmond Tutu over the radio - the crowd stopped marching and gathered around radios at that point - and we in unison shouted NO to war, several times, as loud as we could, and we were over half a mile away from where he was speaking!

Each march has its own signs that stick out - the winner this time, from my perspective, was: "Duct and Cover" - with the lettering done in duct tape! We also encountered a guy in a wheel chair who was giving out pieces of duct tape. We were all happy to take a piece so we would be safe! (Bill Galvin)

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - I was part of a 30-plus group who went from Winston-Salem to Raleigh to participate in the big North Carolina protest. Our march, filling the streets curb-to-curb, was six or more blocks long. All this under the threat of an ice storm. (Al Winn)