October 2, 2010 RALLY Washington DC

If you weren't at RFK Stadium Pre-Event sponsored by UCubed or at the rally on the National Mall sponsored by One Nation Working Together on 10/2/10, you might really want to follow the links, watch the videos, and read my account of the day. My wish is that you get the full experience through my post. I encourage those who were there to contribute their accounts as well.

10/2/10 A Day in History

WHAT DO WE WANT? JOBS! WHEN DO WE WANT THEM? NOW!

The storms had past, giving way to a gorgeous day in Washington DC and to all those who attended the days events.

As a few of you know, I was asked to be a part of the Pre-Event at RFK Stadium by speaking to an excited crowd of union members, unemployed persons and many others by showing UNITY in numbers. It was a huge honor to be on a list of other speakers who were jobs activists and union leaders. A huge, huge thank you to Rick Sloan and all the members of UCubed!

The Master of Ceremonies, Rick Sloan, the UCubed Acting Executive Director and Machinists (IAM) spokesman, started the ball rolling with his welcoming remarks. Rick's remarks can be read here. At the end of Rick's welcoming remarks, the video "BITE BACK" played on top of a truck so that the broadcast could be seen and heard by everyone. Please watch the "BITE BACK" video by clicking here, and listen to the message it sends. UCubed is an affiliate of the Machinists Union (IAM).


The next speaker was Edrie Irvine, a UCubed Jobs Activist.
Edrie is a laid-off legal secretary from Silver Spring, who shared her story with a gathering of unemployed workers that fed into the larger rally. “The recession was caused by the banks, greed and deregulation,” she said. “It didn’t have anything to do with me, but I lost my job.”

After Edrie's powerful speech, it was my turn.

The video of Edrie's and my speech can be found on YouTube by clicking here (thank you Charles). I spoke for each and every person looking for a job, being discriminated against, having your life thrown in the toilet and the injustices shown to ALL.

In two hours time, there were 13 interesting and powerful speakers. Each speaker with almost the same message - JOBS NEED TO BE CREATED, Americans need to be put back to work, and how we all need to unite, stand up, BITE BACK, and Vote in November. YOU MATTER!

The Brothers and Sisters of each union proudly displayed banners of their unity. Here are some of them.










In an email to me from Rick Sloan regarding the Pre-Event, he stated - "Not only did 20,000 or more 10.2.10 One Nation Working Together marchers stream past our rallying point but thousands stopped, took 10.2.10 IAM, ONWT and Hire US, America shirts, signs and UCubed streamers. In fact, they wiped us out! But what was incredible was that all that material made its way to the National Mall!

Thousands of our Brothers and Sisters from the Labor Movement watched the BITE BACK ad, heard from UCubed's litany of incredible speakers and saw the Hire US, America logo. Your efforts gave UCubed a massive boost."

At the end of the RFK Stadium UCubed Pre-Event, people started to walk to the buses that would then shuttle them to the National Mall for the One Nation Working Together Rally.
In a day or so, I will provide links to the videos but for now, here are some pictures.












I strongly suggest registering and signing in at UCubed! While there, use their links to find how UCubed is here to help YOU! Their website can be found by clicking here. Find a "Cube" in your area, and join it. If there is no "Cube" in your area, you can create one. Get involved! Don't allow politicians to silence you. STAND UP & BE HEARD! UCubed also has a blog! Read how the UCubed Rally Shows Solidarity with Jobless! here. Wouldn't YOU want to be an activist? Sure you would! Seriously, it's not difficult! Ask me! Find Tips and Tools on how to be an effective activist when Contacting the Media at UCubed's site.

Next, we advanced toward the National Mall. One Nation Working Together (ONWT) sponsored the rally. You can view pictures from the event on ONWT's site, click here.

These next pictures are of different people from all walks of life with their own messages.


The two pictures in this section were taken while looking down the mall toward the Washington Monument and the Capitol. The next two were taken on the steps heading toward the Lincoln Memorial where the main speakers and media were.

The lady on the right, dressed in black, in the picture above, was speaking in sign language for those in her section to know what was being said and by whom.





Contrary to what Conservatives have said, the number of people in attendance was overwhelming, and evidenced by the pictures above. From the Lincoln Memorial right down to the Capitol Building people watched and listened, participated with groups, their families and some just by themselves. Each and every one of them in UNITY!











The man in the orange shirt I should have interviewed. We were both caught up in the moment of the rally. I gave out my business cards to persons I took pictures of, hopefully, this man and the others will comment! Here are a few pictures of myself and my "partner in crime" for the trip to Washington DC and the rally, Sheri! I am proud to say that we have become close friends. It really took a lot of planning to get 3 of us to these events. I want to thank Sheri for her generous hospitality during the trip.

Of course, there are more pictures, and video from both events. If anyone is interested, please leave a comment with your email address and I'll do my best to get them to you.

On my next blog post, there will be a recap of the unfortunate events that were endured from Thursday, Sept 30 to October 5. I'll call it "The Misadventures that Didn't Keep Us Down", pictures will be included.

In closing of this blog post, I want to also thank two dear friends who conveyed my words and thoughts into a speech. To everyone else ......

STAND UP AND BE HEARD!
I DID!
YOU CAN TOO!

REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER!
GET OUT AND VOTE!