March for Justice and Equality

The young man on the right is a high school student, Dylan Palmer,  making his first major public speech at today’s rally and march for justice and equality beside the statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As so often happens, the sound system (seen here blocking the statue of Dr. King) failed, so Jo Ann Hardesty offered her megaphone. The man standing behind Jo Ann had been trying to make the sound system work, but he gave up and listened to Dylan’s speech. About a thousand people showed up for the march. It was difficult to choose an activity in Portland today. In another part of town there was a rally by Native American people to generate resistance to the oil pipeline in South Dakota. At the airport there was is an on-going demonstration against the ban on Muslims entering the USA, and several organizations are meeting tonight to brainstorm ways to protect the refugees who are already in the USA.

I am grateful for the antibiotics that made it possible for me to attend the rally and take photos this morning. I include two extras: the B&W is Marilyn Keller, who led the singing of two songs, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and “Eyes on the Prize.” The second extra is Rev. Mondainé, who you saw a couple of blips ago, leading the group in singing “We Shall Overcome.” On his right you can see Sue, aiming her camera in my direction.

I started my blip journey in May, 2010, and I have never been an every-day blipper, but I  do love this community. I believe I have a blip milestone today, and while it is unlikely that I will ever catch up on commenting, I want to say right now, right here: thank you. Thank you for your support, your patience, your kindness, your ideas, your opinions, your links, your poems, your quotations, and your photographs. I am grateful for every one of you.