I stood at the corner of 16th and Eye streets, looking to the North, waiting for the crowd to move down. First there was no sign of them, then the came forward slowly, marching toward me taking up the entire width of 16th Street. One by one the cross streets fell to the Police as they blocked traffic ahead of the march. The cute reporter took her position atop the stepstool and the Klieg lights again turned on. The camera crews with booms positioned themselves in the middle of the street, hoping to catch all manner of sounds from the crowd as they came by.

A man with a bullhorn and microphone set stood in front of the AFL-CIO and lead the green-shirted supporters in chants in Spanish and English before the crowd arrived. Slowly they overtook K street, with a massive banner 20 people wide, lead by a vanguard of men carrying American, El Salvadoran and Honduran flags. The news crews cleared the street in front of them to keep their picture pristine and photographers from everywhere snapped pictures of the sign and the crowd.

Little American Flags were all over the protest, dotting it like letters on a page, chants of ¡Si Se Puede! and USA USA! were common throughout the crowd, and signs read in Spanish and English “No person is illegal” and “We are immigrants, not criminals!” were common throughout the crowd.

The group stretched for five blocks and while it was mostly a Hispanic march, there were africans and whites and asians in the march as well. International ANSWER provided some of the signs, and there were also folks in the t-shirts bearing the International Workers’ of the World logos, and a group of anarcho-socialists who were arguing not just for the erasure of borders but laws as well.

Sadly, the card reader for my camera is sitting on my desk, so pictures will wait for tonight. Sitting in Pershing Park, thanking powers that be for Open Park, people are still headed for the Mall, but the traffic has mostly died down to normal rush hour levels and the world has not yet come to a fiery end as the day’s protests have been peaceful so far. Look for my pictures from the event later this evening, or enjoy Wayan’s as he’s posting direct from the scene.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

flag wars

There was much hand wringing pre-protest about flag symbolism. Mexican flags were seen as too decisive and not inclusive of the overall immigrant population.

Today American flags are out in force. My unscientific count: 90% red, white, and blue.

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and now to the mall

The march is now a rally, the protesters have cleared downtown and are congregating on the Mall.

Do not think thats the end. This rally is only getting started and it matters to us all, place of birth regardless.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

on the move

This is the scene at 15 and I. Even the ice cream man is in the march.

Are you?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

They sat down next to me and asked me where a good place to eat was. I sent them toward Georgia Brown’s as their midwestern accent betrayed their Indiana Home. Before they left, though, I asked them if they knew about the protest. Both older women with greying blonde hair, they nodded and said “it’s about immigration, right?” I nodded. They asked me, “will they be allowed in Lafayette Park?”

I shook my head and they seemed relieved.

It was clear they were headed to see the White House with no desire to be overrun by a mass protest. Such is the tourist’s view today.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Boarding the train at Courthouse, I noticed that WMATA has decreased the gap between trains from 14 to 8-10 minutes, and the platform was full for a Monday afternoon around 2pm. When the six car Orange Line train pulled into the station, I was floored. It looked like a rush hour train, not a middle of the afternoon train. I squeezed my way into the car with men and women and children wearing shirts that had slogans in English and Spanish painted on them, hand-written signs bearing the inscription on the Statue of Liberty and other quotes from founding American fathers.

Cubs hats. American Flags. Sam Adams Light hats. US Polo Association Hats. Nike hats and shirts. Levi jeans. These were the common elements of American market culture between us. Between me, and the Hispanic crowd in the train. We all shop here, we all support this economy.

And shortly they’ll be marching down 16th St toward the White House, en masse.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

For those who are new to Metroblogging DC, we do maintain a Flickr group that’s open to the public for posting

Got some great photos from the DC area? We want to see them! Put them into the pool and share with friends and strangers!

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fence free at 1pm

In what must be a first since the Oklahoma City bombings, the White House will not be protected by an additional fence at the borders of Lafayette Park during a major protest.

Do not take this as an invitation to cut through the park when the march rounds the 15th and H Street corner. The Secret Service assured me they will be reminding marchers to stay on H Street at all times and the Washington Monument, not the White House is the rally point.

No word if this was the high-level info the most recent White House fence jumper was trying to convey.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

If you’re planning on driving anywhere in the District this afternoon starting around 3pm, you’re going to want to take a look at this map, because at 3pm a crowd of protestors is going to make its way from Meridian Park on 16th Street in Adams Morgan down to the Mall, stopping traffic in the pre-rush-hour time. This will stop all east-west traffic on any street they cross, as well as all traffic on 16th St during the time of the march. Making matters more inconvenient, 15th Street will be blocked down near the White House as the protest wends its way to the Mall. Police are estimating that the protest should hit the Mall by 4:30, so rush hour should be free of street closures, but much of that depends on the speed of the marchers.

My advice? Metro.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Today there will be a major immigration rights march winding its way through Washington DC. Starting in Meridian Hill Park around noon and gathering at the Washington Monument by 5pm, the march should be 200,000+ strong, and if past marches are any indication, downtown will be a mess of marchers, police, barricades, and the press.

You’re most likely at work right now and will be during the majority of the festivities. You’ll be nose-to-the-grindstone while the marchers rally against The Man behind HR 4437. And you’ll be wondering what in the hell is going on.

Do not fear, DC Metroblogging is here! We’ll have on-site reporters blogging the scene for you in real time. A flag burnt? A protester arrested? A conga line singing “Today we march, tomorrow we vote“? We’ll be there and you can read it here – on DC Metroblogging!

Better yet, DC Metroblogging, like our nation, is a participatory activity. That means today its time to stop lurking and start commenting. Or get crazy and get out, grab your camera, and add to our photostream here.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

As Jeff said earlier, tomorrow may well be a day for taking Metro, the protests that are scheduled to start at Meridian Park and wend their way through to the Mall by midafternoon are going to be fairly large. Local organizers are expecting up to 100,000 people to gather during the day, despite the fact that their protest permit is for 600 people.

However, despite my earlier thoughts about protests, I’m heading out with my cameras tomorrow to see what’s going to happen during the protest. This is going to be a big event for the local immigrant communities, as well as American citizens throughout the area. As the immigration debate comes to the forefront, and we acknowledge the 11 million or so undocumented immigrants who work in the United States in the agriculture, construction and domestic care industries, emotions are going to run high around here. I’m encouraging people to go and listen to what the speakers have to say tomorrow. We live in a representative democracy, which means that we are responsible for the actions of our nation, it might be a good idea to see what’s going on in yours.

If you’re going, we’re going to try something new here at Metroblogging, and that means we’re going to publish a lot of what our readers and open commenters are going to say. Got an opinion? Post it in the comments. Got a photo to share? Add it to the photostream here. This is a community site, and we’re interested in what you have to say. Let’s here it.

One last note: Keep it Respectful. This is a place to discuss ideas and topics, not engage in namecalling.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Forgive the stretch in the title, the latest crazy guy to invade the White House grounds didn’t make it past security, who approached with guns drawn. That’s two in a month, what’s going on? I don’t remember it being nearly this bad before, but we’ve had two in 30 days and hardly another one during the current President’s term. Is there something in the water? Is there arsenic in the half-smokes? I’m getting a bit paranoid….

Cynthia McKinney notably had no alibi for the period of time…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I was sitting in the choir loft today, watching the lesson for the children. Our new religious educator was asking them about Palm Sunday and how they thought a King might arrive today. Horses. Ponies. and then, a little kid said the magic words: “LIMO!”

Clearly, the motorcade culture of Washington has seeped into the next generation.

And that, by the by, inspired my next band name, “Jesuit Motorcade.”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Despite the cold wet rain of Saturday, we ventured out to the Sakura Matsuri, a Japanese Street Festival downtown.

Samurai saw in the elusive beauty of the fragile cherry blossom a symbol of their own fate, an early death at the height of their powers.

Well, it was hardly that depressing an afternoon, but it did have a certain wistful quality as we dodged the rain, trying to worm through into the tents to see what was going on. Paper-making, magic, bizarrely tempting groceries, cute little cellphone holders with embroidered bunnies. And all of it very wet.

Eventually we made our way to the main stage, where an amazing duo called AUN was performing – twin brothers Ryohei and Kohei Inoue playing the taiko drums with ferocious enthusiasm and wide smiles, backed by a sort of techno-lounge sound. Described by the Festival as “Japatronic Taiko Drums,” I was completely mesmerized and almost started dancing in the rain their beats were so infectious.

But our stomachs were growling, so it was off to the food tents to see what we could feast on…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs Continue reading →

You are warned

If you’re out and about on Monday, be sure to be beautiful. Due to the immigration protests, the DC Metropolitan Police Department will activate its CCTV cameras Monday and be looking for you:

Beginning at approximately 1 pm on that day, the MPDC will activate its network of 19 CCTV cameras to help police monitor for any suspicious or unusual activities along the National Mall and in the downtown area.

While we can assume most of those unblinking eyeballs will be looking for abandoned backpacks, I would be careful if I were a young black man, an attractive woman, or noticed the camera watching me.

Why? Read on…

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In a move that might just cause a ruckus, Montgomery County is offering Community Service credit to High School students who ditch school on Monday and come to the protest on the mall. Of course, pillars of society like conservative talk radio show hosts staged a call-in protest and got six kinds of ticked off at the district. Monday’s protest may well be one of the largest in my years here, and likely one of the largest in recent history.

Frankly, I’m surprised more people aren’t offering credit of some kind to have a front row seat at history, but I guess I understand the ire of conservative radio hosts, I mean, they do get paid to piss people off so….

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Seriously, who thought “Dakota Cowgirl” was a better name than “Hamburger Mary’s?” Aside from the simple brilliance that HM’s name had in that it identified the specialty in the name, Dakota Cowgirl evokes the image of crap bars like “Coyote Ugly.”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It is a beautiful day in McPherson Square, sunny, with a light breeze. It is a perfect day really, and I can imagine only one way to spend that day: playing chess.

How about if I take my chess board down to the park & set it up by the 42/S/30’s bus stop? I know folks will be hanging around there all day, maybe one would like to play a game with me. If they think they’re good, I might even bet ’em or at least get a few bucks from ’em while I kick ass.

Now to make it all home-like, to really get folks feeling the chess, how about if I decorate around the chessboard? Pile big plastic bags, assorted empty bottles and trash that cascade out onto the sidewalk. Yeah, that’ll make it nice and inviting.

Home Sweet Home in McPherson Square

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Perhaps you’re like me and weary of the final work day of the week (perhaps you’re luckier and you’ve already left the office, you slacker). Post 3pm on a Friday afternoon in Washington (isn’t it almost recess for those crazy kids on the Hill too?) is snoozeville. So in daydreaming about potential activities tonight and how wonderful it would be if I were a carefree artist I remembered it’s the first Friday of the month – which means party time in Dupont’s art galleries, with most places open until 8pm or so!

Be sure to check out my absolute favorite small gallery, the Kathleen Ewing. Ask to see Rosamund Purcell’s amazing portfolio of photographs and let them mess with your mind. Then head out for an infused vodka at the luxe Russia House and pretend you have the moxie to be a collector. Sigh. Someday.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

DCist “i” Rebel!

Did anyone else catch the major non-no perpetrated by Kyle Gustafson on yesterday’s DCist Photo of the Day post? Did you note the flagrant use, nay, abuse of the letter “i”?

I counted at least 11 lone letter “i”‘s, unsupported by surrounding letters, independent and indivisible in the post. And 24 hours later they’re still there! A totally random and unscientific survey of his entries show this “i” usage is new and different.

Could this mean that DCist is slowing breaking with the “Royal We” rule of the “ist” empire? Is Kyle is the vanguard for change to be more like the ragingly “I” of Metblogs? Or could it be a sinister Singularist mole infiltration?

I, for one, have my suspicions…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs