WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Over 100,000 people filled the streets of the nation's capital Saturday in a nonviolent protest against possible U.S. military action in Iraq.
The demonstration, possibly the largest anti-war rally since Vietnam-era protests according to organizers and police, began in Constitution Gardens adjacent to the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial and led to a march that encircled the White House.
"I thought it was great," said Sarah Lantzman, a member of the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice, which helped organize transportation to the event. "There was a broad range of people there, not just the people who always go to protests."
The event was coordinated by International Act Now Stop War and End Racism, an activist organization that worked with many other groups to advertise the rally and transport protestors to the capital.
Before the march, throngs in Constitution Gardens listened to speakers ranging from former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, to Rev. Jesse Jackson to Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, D-GA. Speakers said President George W. Bush does not speak for all Americans and that a war on Iraq would be destructive and unnecessary.
"We come from different races, from different cultures, from different parts of the country -- we are the real America, and Americans stand for peace and rational thinking," said Rev. Al Sharpton, who also spoke. "You will not declare this wickedest of wars in our name."
Banners and signs with slogans such as "Bronx says Peace," "Nebraskans for Peace," "Not in our name -- Lawrence, Kansas," and "Evanston, IL -- neighbors for peace," announced support from across the country.
The diversity of the crowd extended beyond age and race, encompassing both frequent protestors and those unaccustomed to demonstration.
"I've never been to anything like this before," said Abigail Reid, a Minnesota resident who attends American University. "It's amazing."
Students from the University also made the trip to Washington to take part.
"I came because I wanted to stand up for my generation," second-year College student David Dexter said. "War now would be preemptive and unnecessary, and I don't feel it's in the interest of the majority of the American public."
Parents pushing babies in strollers, and veterans of protests of the past joined students and middle-aged citizens in protest.
"We've been working for a long time in the peace movement, during Vietnam and the Gulf War," said Jackie Florsheim of Brooklyn, N.Y. who attended with her husband Henry. "We don't want to see war proliferate."
A small group demonstrated in support of action against Iraq across the street from the march, announcing "Saddam is a Murderer" over a megaphone and brandishing signs that read "Axis of Evil: Saddam, Farrakhan, John Muhammad," and declared Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein "Wanted."
Many of the anti-war demonstrators commemorated Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, who died Friday in a plane crash.
Wellstone was an ardent opponent of military action against Iraq and a longtime liberal activist. He was the only senator in a competitive re-election campaign to vote against the resolution giving Bush the power to launch military action unhindered by Congress.
Numerous placards denounced war and made jabs at Bush. Some read "Regime change begins at home," "Money for Jobs Not War," "War is not an option," "Start seeing Iraqi children," "No blood for oil," "Protest is patriotic," and "Dissent is an American Virtue."