Sacramentans Protest the 2,500th U. S. Death in the Iraq Occupation

For the second consecutive Saturday, Sacramento anti-war protesters rallied at 16th & Broadway. The 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm event on June 17th observed the terrible milestone of 2,500 U. S. deaths in the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, as well as the killing of over 150,000 Iraqi men, women and children.

The original organizers of the 16th and Broadway demonstrations, Stephen and Virginia Pearcy, were back in the leadership role for this demonstration. In addition to the Pearcys, the demonstration and candlelight vigil were sponsored by George McAdow and Ruth Holbrook, Sacramento for Democracy, Not in Our Name Coalition/Sacramento, Veterans for Peace/Sacramento Chapter, Code Pink/Davis Chapter, Code Pink/Sacramento Chapter, Military Families Speak Out/Capital Region, and many others.

As the Pearcys stated in their call for the demonstration, “It is significant that the U.S. death toll has surpassed 2,500. It is not, as White House Press Secretary Tony Snow says, just ‘a number’."

The announcement by the Pentagon of the 2,500th death of U. S. personnel in Iraq necessitated a quick organizational effort by the Pearcys. With only two day’s notice, an estimated 150 anti-war activists attended at one time or another over the two-hour duration of the rally and the following half-hour candlelight vigil.

The diverse Sacramento peace community came together in solidarity as they always have under the anti-war/anti-Bush banner. Accordingly, many of the same people who attended this event were at the demonstration on June 10th. The Capoeira Arts percussion group also enlivened the demonstration.

It’s too soon to tell for sure if this event represents a “Unity Demo” stemming from discussions about healing divisions within the activist community. Regardless, the diversity of sponsorship and attendance shown in this demonstration is a promising step toward addressing the need for reconcilliation, inclusiveness and cooperation among the various local organizations and groups in putting on future events like this.