Four Years Later (Page 3 of 5)

On the national level, the anti-war rally ‘March on the Pentagon’ will be also be held March 17 in Washington D.C. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first anti-war march on the Pentagon protesting the Vietnam War.

Washington protest planners expect more than 10,000 participants as well as notable guest speakers demanding the removal of U.S occupancy in Iraq, including Cindy Sheehan, co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace.

The Knoxville event will begin with a rally at John Bynon West Hills Park at 12 p.m.  Speakers from the progressive community will be on hand, along with live music from local artists.

Following the rally, participants will cross Kingston Pike to the front of West Town Mall where a peace demonstration will begin at 2 p.m. 

Gerald Bone, a Knoxville protest participant, believes that growing disapproval of the war is something that can further their cause to bring the troops home.

“I think in what was her final column, Molly Ivins pointed out that 80 percent of people oppose the escalation and only 38 percent of military people favor it,” Bone says about the recent shift in attitude of the general public against the escalation of troops in the war.

“Those are impressive numbers. We plan to take advantage of this change in sentiment by the American people.”

Organizers hope to gather more than 3,100 people from the community to represent the number of American soldiers who have died in Iraq. 

“Through personal invitations and wide broadcasting on the Internet we connected with several other groups which have a common interest in peace,” says Grimac.

Planners also believe their efforts will move people in the community to join their fight against the war. "We keep each other motivated by keeping our eye on the prize and by giving as much support to each other as we can in all the other struggles we all care so deeply about,” says Bone. “We’re ready. We’re motivated. And we would like this March 17 to be the last anniversary of the Iraq war.”

Anatomy of a Protest

Behind the scenes, planners struggle for exposure

By Jessica Guice

The United States has been divided about the conflict in Iraq since the war began on March 19, 2003, with anti-war sentiment and protests rising to levels unseen since the Vietnam era.

Public protest is a method used for centuries by millions of people to evoke and demand change within society. We often watch the outcome of these gatherings — the nation watched last year as more than 100,000 marchers took to the streets to support immigrant rights, and in January, thousands gathered in Washington to protest the war in Iraq — but we rarely see how the like-minded come together to take a stand.

Members of several local progressive and grassroots organizations such as the Green Party and the Religious Society of Friends provided insight into the process when they gathered Feb.13 to discuss plans for an upcoming rally and parade to mark the four-year anniversary of the American invasion in Iraq.

Jerry Bone, a board member of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, said he has planned protests since the 1960s against racism, homophobia and police brutality. To organize the upcoming anti-war protest on March 17, Bone worked alongside Bob Grimac, an elementary Spanish teacher who has organized war protests in Knoxville on the third Sunday of each month since July 2005.

Together, the two obtained emails and phone numbers of other peace and justice groups from the East Tennessee Progressive Alliance Network.  After spreading the word through the network and by word of mouth, the group saw increased participation from several different organizations, including churches that promote peace through their ministry.

Communication tools such as these may be the first step to having a successful protest. “We came up with a pitch, sent it to all of our friends, people we go to the church with, and people we know from organizations. The network is a wonderful resource,” said Bone. “The word went out that way and people said they would help with the organizing and try to attend meetings.”