Scenes from a Protest: Part 2

Taylor and Terri Rice, CodePink Memphis, participated in the CodePink rally in DC, January 27, 2007. Check out the young CodePinker, Taylor to the right or Sean Penn and the others, with drum sticks clacking and "Fire Bush" pink slip. She is a "Peace Princess" just like her crown says.

Report on Peace March

CodePink Memphis had a great turnout at the rally and march on March 17th. Between 20-25 people turned out in pink to participate with the several hundred protesters. The ages ranged from 1 year, 10 years, high school kids, college kids, up to seniors, all marching for peace. Taylor R. and Betsy A. helped sign up new people interested in supporting CodePink and they both led the march of several hundred, in peace chants, even introducing the crowd to CodePink's "What do women say . . . Pull out now!". I was thrilled to see the number of high school and college aged kids joining the march and getting involved. The march led to the military processing center, where the names and pictures of soldiers from Tennessee killed in the war were tied to the fence surrounding the center, with yellow ribbons, while their names were read aloud. It was a very moving visual presentation. We finished the march, walking down Beale St., where the St. Patty's day party crowd was waiting for the St. Patty's parade to begin. We received, largely, a positive response, even picking up a few new marchers. The march ended where it began, at the National Civil Rights Museum. On the way to my car, my daughter and I were stopped by two young men from Denmark, wanting to take our picture in our CodePink gear and signs of Peace. They seemed excited to see that in America there are people pushing for Peace, not just a government pushing for war.

[ Watch the FOX 13 News video. ]

Peace March

On March 17, 2007, CodePink Memphis will be joining a Peace rally and march to mark the 4th anniversary of the War in Iraq. For those of you who are new to these kinds of actions, I'd really like to urge you to attend. I took my daughter to the march in D.C. in January and it was a life changing experience for us both. When I joined other people who are Pro-Peace, there was such a tremendous release of the frustration I had felt at my unability to make a change. I realized how many people there are that want the same things I did, peace, social changes, and a move to make a difference.

Please make plans to attend this event with CodePink Memphis. You will feel empowered that you are taking a stand, speaking out for peace, and meeting others that are doing the same. There will be more information sent out to our email list, that will detail what we are doing, but if you want more information, or are planning on attending, please email CodePinkMemphis@aol.com so that we know what kind of numbers we are looking at. Look at the pictures on our website to know what CodePinkers wear to these events, or some of the national actions at www.codepinkalert.org. We will have some props, but the brighter pink the better, the more pink the better!