March 17, 2007 anti-war protest
Encyclopedia
A.N.S.W.E.R.
Act Now to Stop War and End Racism , also known as International A.N.S.W.E.R. and the ANSWER Coalition, is a United States-based protest umbrella group consisting of many antiwar and civil rights organizations...
that marched from Constitution Gardens
Constitution Gardens
Constitution Gardens is a park area in Washington, D.C., United States, located within the boundaries of the National Mall. The park is bounded on the west by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, on the east by 17th St NW, on the north by Constitution Avenue, and on the south by the Reflecting Pool...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
in Arlington, Virginia. The date was selected to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, and also the 40th anniversary of a similar anti-war march on October 21, 1967. Organizers estimated 15,000 to 30,000 protesters attended, while the police gave informal estimates of 10,000 to 20,000.
Cindy Sheehan
Cindy Sheehan
Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan is an American anti-war activist whose son, U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed by enemy action during the Iraq War. She attracted national and international media attention in August 2005 for her extended anti-war protest at a makeshift camp outside President...
, a prominent opponent of the war, and who lost a son in the war, declared, "We want the people in the White House out of our house and arrested for crimes against humanity," and called the president and his military advisers "war criminals."
Other protesters demanded that the U.S. stop perpetrating human rights abuses, and that the prison camps at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba be closed. Several protesters, dressed in orange outfits and black bags over their heads to simulate the prisoners, portrayed the image that America has lost its moral standing and has now become a nation that oppresses human rights.
There was a sub-protest organized primarily by members of the Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (2006 organization)
Students for a Democratic Society is a United States student organization representing left wing beliefs. It takes its name and inspiration from the original SDS of 1960-1969, then the largest radical student organization in US history...
(SDS) organization, which formed a black bloc
Black bloc
A black bloc is a tactic for protests and marches, whereby individuals wear black clothing, scarves, ski masks, motorcycle helmets with padding, or other face-concealing items...
at the corner of 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue NW in Washington, and marched alongside the main group for much of the march's route. The black bloc separated just before the main march entered the Pentagon's north parking lot, and attempted to march closer to the Pentagon. Pentagon Police and Virginia State Police
Virginia State Police
Virginia State Police is a state agency, conceived in 1919 and established in 1932, that acts as the state police force for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The agency originated out of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles as an inspector and enforcer of highway laws...
officers responding to the splinter march used concussive grenades and threatened to use less than lethal chemical crowd control agents. The black bloc had a two to three hour sit-in, and after that took a vote and decided to return to Washington. They followed the route of the original protest, except now blocking traffic, and knocking over construction barricades. The bloc was ultimately dispersed near where the protest originally gathered by MPDC officers on bicycles, and Park Police officers in riot gear. At least two were arrested.
The war protest was preceded by a prayer service in the National Cathedral Friday night, the evening before the march. Speakers at the ecumenical protest called the war in Iraq "an offense against God." After prayers in the cathedral, the Christian protesters walked with battery-powered candles toward the White House and continued the calls for peace. After dark police arrested 222 of the protesters near Lafayette Park for disobeying lawful order, or crossing a police line. The gathering included Christians from several groups including a coalition "Christian Peace Witness for Iraq". Despite the cold weather, wind, and snow, the National Cathedral was filled with Christians praying for an end to the war, and two other smaller churches hosted some of the overflow crowds.
There were also a number of counter-protesters, including the Gathering of Eagles, a group formed to show support for the war in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, the troops, and the government, and which also claimed to be protecting various monuments from any vandalism by anti-war marchers. It included, among others, members of the Rolling Thunder motorcycle group, and veterans and families who have or have lost family members in Iraq.
Other cities
Many cities held anti-war protests on this day, including San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
; San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
; New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; and even smaller student-run protests in suburbs such as the Saturday march in the downtown of Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...
.