New Orleans march on City Hall
The Anti-Violence March on Thursday went well.
Ms. Hollie and I took the Canal Streetcar to the main gathering point by the World Trade Mart, where a good crowd gathered. The group started marching a bit before the 11:30 time, back on Canal Street, up Tchopitoulas, then back on Poydras to Loyola, to City Hall. On Poydras I could see 2 blocks of crowd in front of us and at least 6 block fulls more of people behind us, a real big turnout.
Various "feeder" marches came from Mid City, Marigny, and Central City. I've heard estimates of the total being 3 to 5 thousand. (And this was on a week day.) A disappointment was how "white" the crowd was; it seemed about 95% in the Canal Street marching group. The Central City group was almost all "black"; they were the last to arrive at City Hall and got a loud reception of cheering and applause from those already there, but I think the group as a whole was still about 80% "white".
Lots of signs, the most common being the "Enough" and memorials for Hill and Shavers. There were many other signs for other crime victims. Lots criticizing Mayor Nagin and police chief Riley. A few individuals with contradictary messages here and there, eg "We need less guns" / "We need more guns" and "Support the Police" / "The Police are part of the Problem". However overall a very unified community feeling expressing the "We're mad as hell, and not going to take it any more" message. I was glad to see how many noted the importance of education. That's a point I've been stressing myself for over 20 years. We need to pay attention and proper resources to public education as if our lives and freedom depend on it , as they do.
Like some 2/3 to 3/4 of the crowd, we were across the street from the speakers on the grounds in front of City Hall. With distance and the CNN, NBC trucks between us, most of us couldn't hear more than occasional bits of the speeches.
On our way back in the Canal Streetcar, some folks who were up front said the speakers laid it on the line in no uncertain terms. Mayor Nagin and Police Chief Riley were there, but were not given a chance to speak-- they'd held a press confrerence the day before, and the organizers decided this was a chance for the rest of the community to speak for a change. Nagin and Riley looked very uncomfortable. Someone expressed the wish that Bush could get a similar public dressing down, to streetcar wide murmers of "Worst President Ever".
Times-Picayune article
New York Times article plus comments
Speech by local blogger b.rox Good stuff
My photos
Edit: additional good links
"Laissez la révolution rouler" on People Get Ready
Dangerblonde's account
Karen Gadbois speech on her "Squandered Heritage" blog
Maitree's Anti-Crime March & Rally Media Roundup; includes multimedia links to some of the speeches
Ms. Hollie and I took the Canal Streetcar to the main gathering point by the World Trade Mart, where a good crowd gathered. The group started marching a bit before the 11:30 time, back on Canal Street, up Tchopitoulas, then back on Poydras to Loyola, to City Hall. On Poydras I could see 2 blocks of crowd in front of us and at least 6 block fulls more of people behind us, a real big turnout.
Various "feeder" marches came from Mid City, Marigny, and Central City. I've heard estimates of the total being 3 to 5 thousand. (And this was on a week day.) A disappointment was how "white" the crowd was; it seemed about 95% in the Canal Street marching group. The Central City group was almost all "black"; they were the last to arrive at City Hall and got a loud reception of cheering and applause from those already there, but I think the group as a whole was still about 80% "white".
Lots of signs, the most common being the "Enough" and memorials for Hill and Shavers. There were many other signs for other crime victims. Lots criticizing Mayor Nagin and police chief Riley. A few individuals with contradictary messages here and there, eg "We need less guns" / "We need more guns" and "Support the Police" / "The Police are part of the Problem". However overall a very unified community feeling expressing the "We're mad as hell, and not going to take it any more" message. I was glad to see how many noted the importance of education. That's a point I've been stressing myself for over 20 years. We need to pay attention and proper resources to public education as if our lives and freedom depend on it , as they do.
Like some 2/3 to 3/4 of the crowd, we were across the street from the speakers on the grounds in front of City Hall. With distance and the CNN, NBC trucks between us, most of us couldn't hear more than occasional bits of the speeches.
On our way back in the Canal Streetcar, some folks who were up front said the speakers laid it on the line in no uncertain terms. Mayor Nagin and Police Chief Riley were there, but were not given a chance to speak-- they'd held a press confrerence the day before, and the organizers decided this was a chance for the rest of the community to speak for a change. Nagin and Riley looked very uncomfortable. Someone expressed the wish that Bush could get a similar public dressing down, to streetcar wide murmers of "Worst President Ever".
Times-Picayune article
New York Times article plus comments
Speech by local blogger b.rox Good stuff
My photos
Edit: additional good links
"Laissez la révolution rouler" on People Get Ready
Dangerblonde's account
Karen Gadbois speech on her "Squandered Heritage" blog
Maitree's Anti-Crime March & Rally Media Roundup; includes multimedia links to some of the speeches