Hopped in the car about 10:30 am; drove to Baltimore Penn Station, about a 45 minute drive. Grabbed an Amtrak to Union Station DC; got there at 12:30 pm.
It was a beautiful day, about 65 degrees, bright sun, perfectly clear skies, dry and cool fall air.
As soon as I got outside Union Station, there was the spirit of a political rally in the air.
Here's a shot looking back at Union Station, that captures some of the beautiful light on this gorgeous fall day.
It's about a 2 1/2 mile walk from Union Station to the Lincoln memorial. About 1/4 mile into the walk I ran into a group of really nice people from NYC. One of the guys was representing his union. We chatted as we walked the mile and a half to the reflecting pool. Hope they check in, because I forgot to ask for everyone's name, but did get permission to post these pics. Their wives are in some of the pictures too, if they want to identify themselves.
The man from the union told a sad story of how so many of his fellow union members were republicans and how they were only concerned with themselves. They really didn't understand the purpose of unions, and almost none knew what it was like when unions weren't strong. He was the only one representing his union.
My new-found pals had made lots of posters. Here's three of them:
The other man in the NYC group was a policeman. He mentioned how Fox news was always on in the precinct when he came in. He'd always change the channel. He estimated that 75% of his fellow officers were Rs. We groused about how they voted against their own interests.
I mentioned that the anti-government Rs were never against government expenditures for the military, police, or firefighters. This got a nod and a pithy response about how their main job was protecting the interests of the wealthy.
Here's the sign the NYC police officer made. In case you can't make it out: "Hey Fox News, repetition does not transform a lie into a truth."
As we got about 1/2 mile from the Washington Monument, we started to see groups of those gathered for the rally. The group pictured here (100+ people moving in a long line on the sidewalk, you can't really make it out), started marching and chanting as we approached from the other side of the mall. This got us starting to feel the spirit. When we got to the Washington Monument, having walked about a mile and a half, we started seeing union groups in bands of 20-30, some of them chanting as they made their way to the end of the reflecting pool furthest from the Lincoln Memorial.
By this time we were starting to get a little warm from the walking, the excitement, and the bright full sun. The ground was squishy from the torrential rains all day and night Thursday and into Friday morning.
Here's what the crowd looked like about 1:15 pm. This shot was taken from about 150 ft. behind the reflecting pool. You can see the people gathered on either side and the stage set-up on the Lincoln Memorial steps.
Here's a shot just getting into the throng of people at the far end of the reflecting pool. My NYC pals took a detour around one of the memorials and when I went to find them a minute or two later, I'd lost them.
I was a lone amateur journalist with a big heavy camera for the rest of the day. This is not to say I felt alone. It was easy to strike up conversations with people, most of whom were very friendly, and willing to share a political moment or help you find your way to a refreshment stand.
Probably the most interesting and amusing part of being there besides the excitement of hearing the voices of Ed Schultz, Al Sharpton, and AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka ringing through the loud speakers, rallying us, their faces huge on the 60 ft. screens ... was seeing all the different signs and t-shirts.
Al Sharpton on the jumbo-tron:
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign.
There was much more message organization than I expected. This was both refreshing and uplifting, particularly with the messages on the t-shirts which were frequently worn by everyone in a group of 20 - 30, making a clear statement. I tried to take as many pictures of the variety of signs as possible. It was such an interesting experience reading the variety of signs; seeing the power of the sign-maker's conviction. Here's a big collection below.
Jobs, jobs, jobs, one of the most popular t-shirts.
Mexican-born workers saying they are treated like criminals:
The most popular t-shirt was the one announcing that its wearer would vote. Besides the stirring rhetoric and the great feeling of being in the midst of so many like-thinking people, this was the most encouraging sight of the day.
About an hour after getting there, I finally wound my way up to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial so I could see the speakers in person rather than on the jumbo-trons. You couldn't see the speakers, who were most of the way up the Lincoln Memorial steps unless you got about 25 feet up the steps, as they were obscured by all the people and by obstructing structures.
Here's a shot from the Lincoln Memorial steps, looking back at the crowd.
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Here's a shot from the Lincoln Memorial steps of a singing group (forgot to write their name down) who lead us in a singing of America the Beautiful.
Here's a picture of the speech calling on parents and children to get a good education and to better fund education, calling an educated populace our best defense and our only true strength.
How many people were there? My guess is maybe 200,000. On either side of the reflecting pool and in front of the Lincoln Memorial and into the trees on either side were about 60% of this number. As I walked back, quite a way from the mall on the left side through the trees and paths - a two mile walk - there were groups of people everywhere, set up at tables passing out literature, sitting in twos and threes on the shady benches, walking around, carrying signs. This was about 20% of the people. Here's a picture of the shady area on one side of the reflecting pool.
The other 20%, were the people coming and going. There were as many coming in as going the entire time I was in the mall area - about two hours - between 1pm and 3pm.
For instance, here's two pictures of people almost two miles from the Lincoln Memorial at the far other end of the mall.
By the time I got back to Union Station at 3:45, my pedometer showed that I'd walked almost 7 miles. I plopped down in my seat for 10 minutes, waiting for the train to show up, resting, reflecting on the day.
It was a very real and intense experience seeing politics unfiltered by the media; seeing that there was so much fire and spirit in everyone there, such contempt for the tea-partiers and the Rs. Even in the train station most of the people leaving were wearing t-shirts showing they'd been at the march. The left-of-center owned the day. I'd remarked to my one of my one-day buddies from NYC as we approached the Washington Monument and heard the chants of one group - "So, it's not true, there really is a left in the US", which gave us a little chuckle.
Not only is there a left, but it's a left that really gets it. You read or watch MSM stuff and see that they don't get it - at all. There were so many conversations on the mall today by people who understand politics more clearly than many of those who have a big mike and a glitzy TV show, and knowing nods at the points the speakers made pointing out things like this. My day-friends from NYC made commentary as wise as what you hear on Keith or Rachel. It was great to hear!!
Is it too late for the Ds to turn back the Rs assault on the House of Representatives a month from now? Hard to say. We put up a good fight today and made a very strong showing!!