Charlottesville residents joined an estimated 10,000 demonstrators Saturday in an anti-war rally and march on the White House.
The march culminated in the arrest of several notable speakers, including Alice Water, author of "The Color Purple," and Albemarle County resident Barbara Ehrenreich, author of "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America."
The demonstration was organized by Code Pink for Peace, a Washington-based non-profit organization that has staged a daily vigil in front of the White House since November 15.
Code Pink Co-Founder Jodie Evans said the demonstration began with a gathering at Malcolm X park, where speakers including Nobel Laureate Jodie Williams, Magazine publisher Nina Utne and Code Pink Co-Founder Medea Benjamin, adressed the gathering.
Evans said the protest was intended to deliver a message to the Bush administration.
"We wanted to show the White House, Bush and the world that women and Americans are against war in Iraq," she said.
The crowd then continued to the White House, where performers enacted a political allegory with a three-headed puppet designed to represent war, greed and injustice, Evans said.
The group originally intended for all protesters to march to the White House, but was denied a permit to do so. Instead, a group of about 25 walked to Lafayette Square on Pennsylvania Avenue to continue the demonstration.
Park police asked them to leave, and then arrested them when they did not comply. Among those arrested were Walker, Ehrenreich and others who had spoken at the event.
All parties arrested were released around 9 p.m. Saturday night, Davis said.
Vigils also were held Saturday outside Federal buildings in an estimated 40-50 cities around the country, Davis said.
In addition to domestic anti-war demonstrations, the event also was held in conjunction with International Women's Day celebrations worldwide, said Helena Lobban, spokesperson for the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice, which sent approximately 50 Charlottesville residents to the demonstration.
"It's nice to connect with the international women's movement in a celebration of life," Lobban said.
Protesters were encouraged to wear pink in an effort to stand in contrast to the color coding currently used by the Department of Homeland Security to designate domestic threat levels.
Robban said most participants chose to do so, though some members of the Charlottesville contingent opted to abstain.
"We had a couple of 12 year old boys on the bus who weren't too into that," Robban said.
Robban also emphasized the event's timeliness.
"The timing was really important," said Robban. "The president will probably make a decision [to go to war or not] this week."
President Bush announced Thursday that he intends to engage the U.S. in military action against Iraq if it does not disarm by March 17.
Davis said she hoped the march would energize those who attended.
"I promise that there are 10,000 people involved who will be more involved after this event," she said. "You can't do it from your arm chair."
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