Just came from an immigration march/rally

[Bluzmann57]

And I have to say, I was impressed. The organizers were hoping to get around 3000 people. They easily surpassed that.It was also quite possibly the only Bi-State march in America. Started in Illinois, ended across the River in Iowa and when the first marchers got into Iowa, there were still people leaving the staging area. It took around an hour for all those people to cross the bridge, which is about a mile long. We all marched over to LeClaire Park, a beautiful park on the Mississippi River and there was a young lady up on the stage cheerleading, more or less. She had the crowd going and she most likely will not have a voice for a few days. The crowd filled out and then there were numerous speakers extolling the virtues of immigrants and working hard to defeat the anti immgration bills now before Congress. All in all, a peaceful yet still boisterous crowd with many dedicated people, all working toward a common goal. One more thing, it has been raining here a lot the last couple of days, but about 30 minutes before the march started, the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. Hope all other rallies went as well as this one did. Incidentally, "Nightline" was supposed to be covering this event, so look for it tonight.

[madame defarge]

1. Quad Cities???

My old stomping grounds!!! Glad to hear you had such a great turnout. Each person makes a difference.

Results coming in from the Chicago rally/protest = 300K - 500K!!!

[Bluzmann57]

5. Quad Cities born, bred,

and most likely QC dead as well. I like it here and the turnout was great! Btw, don't forget about Blues Fest. Great lineup as usual this year. And I saw something at noon on WGN about the rally and they said that the turnout may have hit 500,000. So way to go Chicago!

[madame defarge]

6. So....

IL or IA side?

[Bluzmann57]

7. Iowa

Live in Davenport, raised in LeClaire. Actually born in Rock Island, I guess. I really don't remember. lol.

[madame defarge]

8. BHS '72...

I always loved the Welcome sign at Bettedorf's city limits:

"Welcome to Bettendorf -- Iowa's Most Exciting City"

[spindrifter]

2. Power to the People!

The marches remind me of that call to the streets that empowered so many.

[Sequoia]

3. I went to see them at lunch in my town

and they were just coming up with flags and drums. Old people, kids piled on top of one another in strollers. I joined them for a few blocks and it felt great. First time ever. They kept coming on for a solid hour with up to 7 abreast. People say, my ancestors stood in line at Elis Island, etc. But you know if Europe was attached to us they'd be streaming in too. People around here sip their expensive wine and eat on clean plates in fancy places and if those workers weren't here many business establishments that cater to the well to do would fail big time.

[Sapere aude]

4. I wish we could all take to the streets and march for our causes.

Nice post, good to read and hear about.