Article in the November 11, 2002 Santa Rosa Press Democrat
3,000 March for Peace
In the largest anti-war protest in Sonoma County in more than a decade, thousands of peace activists marched through the heart of Santa Rosa on Sunday, waving signs, banging drums and chanting ``No blood for oil'' to protest a possible war against Iraq.
Nearly 3,000 people took part in the rally along Mendocino Avenue, rivaling a protest against the Persian Gulf War in 1991 that drew about 3,500 demonstrators.
A colorful, all-ages crowd massed behind the entrance gate at Santa Rosa Junior College before stepping out at around noon to begin the mile-long walk to Old Courthouse Square. Protestors filled the sidewalks, at times spilling onto the street and blocking intersections as they moved south.
People rode bicycles, walked their dogs and pushed their children's strollers while waving signs saying ``Peace is Patriotic,'' ``First Strike is Unamerican'' and ``Regime Change Begins at Home.''
Judy Newton and Ben Ford of Santa Rosa brought their children, Corey, 8, and Leah, 5, to their first rally.
``It's important enough that it could really change their world,'' Newton said of the prospect of war.
Santa Rosa police, stationed at the college and at intersections, diverted traffic as the crowd stopped along the route and jammed the College Avenue intersection before completely taking over Mendocino Avenue near Seventh Street and marching en masse to the square.
``It brings tears to my eyes,'' said Shirley McGovern, who in the early 1980s was one of the founders of the then-Peace Center, now the Peace and Justice Center.
McGovern made the trip to Santa Rosa from her home near Laguna Beach for Sunday's rally.
``This is very hopeful,'' said Alice Waco, a retired teacher and longtime Sonoma County activist.
``It makes a clear statement there is a significant number of people in this United States who are against killing people for oil, for imperialism, for profit. If people really studied and listened and learned, they'd all be against it.''
The rally came as U.S.-Iraq tensions continued to simmer. On Sunday in Cairo, Arab foreign ministers urged Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to accept the U.N. Security Council resolution ordering weapons inspections.
``People are really feeling the immediacy,'' said Elizabeth Stinson, executive director of the Peace and Justice Center. ``We're mobilized, we're organized and we're going to continue to object.''
Despite a few traffic jams, police reported no major problems along the marchers' route and there were no organized counter-demonstrations. Officers confiscated several sticks used for signs that violated a city ordinance restricting their size.
Three members of the Dargenzio family saw the demonstration and stopped to show their support for U.S. military force against Iraq.
Anthony Dargenzio, 15, a Cardinal Newman High School student, held a hastily made ``Bomb Iraq'' sign as demonstrators filed past, drawing hisses from some in the crowd.
``We're supporting America. We have to fight for our rights,'' he said.
Confronted by two marchers, Anthony's father, Dino, who was in the Navy during the Vietnam war, asked, ``What about the 3,000 people killed at the World Trade Center?''
``You're full of hate and revenge,'' a marcher said, turning away.
Further up Mendocino Avenue, hundreds of marchers halted and lay on the asphalt in a ``die-in'' in front of The Press Democrat to symbolize the mainstream press' incomplete coverage of anti-war sentiment, said activist Robin Latham-Ponneck.
At Old Courthouse Square, marchers filled seats, stood on a fountain and overflowed onto the muddy grass to listen to speakers, sign petitions and buy political T-shirts and bumper stickers. The rally broke up at about 3 p.m.
Organizers said the next major local demonstration will come next week in the form of a student-led ``day of action'' at colleges and high schools throughout the country.
You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 521-5205 or lcarter@pressdemocrat.com.
© 2002- The Press Democrat