Washington D.C. Moratorium '69
We were supposed to gather in front of the Washington Monument and
march down Pennsylvania Ave. When we reached the monument, we
encountered a sea of students and other protesters. The organizers
were trying to get the people grouped by states and it was all we
could do just to find the Michigan delegation. State banners were
waved above the crowd, but unless you were already close to your
state, you probably wouldn't be able to find it; there were too many
people to be able to move freely through the crowd. Once we joined
the delegation from Michigan, I ran into students from CMU. The
students told me that they came to D.C. in one of seven buses. One
of the students told me that U of M sent twenty buses and MSU sent
twenty-nine busloads of students to D.C. Standing in such a large
crowd of people was an unforgettable experience, especially when you
knew everybody was there to express one opinion--in one loud voice.
Don't ever underestimate the power of the establishment to distort
the facts. The news media reported 250,000 people attended the
Moratorium rally; a gross underestimate. The Michigan delegation was
huge, but compared to the crowd as a whole it was hardly noticeable.
In fact, when it came time to march, the Michigan delegation never
moved from its spot. We stood freezing for two hours while the
marchers walked down Pennsylvania Ave. The protesters were like a
giant slinky; the front of the line moved down Pennsylvania Ave.,
but the back of the line never got started. When the news media
reported 250,000 people protested the Vietnam War in Washington
D.C., that number represented the number of people who marched down
Pennsylvania Ave., not the number attending the rally. The Michigan
delegation, in order to keep from freezing to death, turned and
walked over to where the Moratorium speakers were going to address
the crowd because it was just to painful too wait anymore. Even the
area where the stage was set up, on the other side of the Washington
Monument, was too small to accommodate the crowd, which stretched
from the Washington Monument all the way back to the Smithsonian
Institute; every inch of ground around the Monument was occupied.
Around 10 a.m., after using the restroom in the Smithsonian, I began
to make my way to the stage. Two hours later, I reached a spot where
I could see the stage. It was not until 5 p.m. that I reached a
place where I could both hear and see the speakers. By that time, I
had missed a lot. I still got to see and hear Pete Seeger, Arlo
Guthrie, the cast of Hair, and Peter, Paul and Mary though. The
struggle was definitely worth it. Peter Yarrow announced to the
crowd that the Moratorium had brought together more than a million
voices calling for an end to the Vietnam War. Although that number
was disputed, I am inclined to believe it, for the one simple fact
that at 4 p.m. the news media reported that 75,000 protesters
attacked the Justice Department and maliciously vandalized the
building. That means, if the media was right, 75,000 people, a third
of the crowd, was supposed to be absent from the main rally. I was
making my way through the crowd at 4 p.m. and its size had not
diminished. In a crowd one million strong, that is exactly what you
would expect.
Regardless of the disputed numbers, there were a lot of people
protesting American foreign policy. They had traveled all the way to
Washington D.C. to make their voices heard, and they succeeded. This
accomplished, it was Saturday night and, as they say, "When in Rome,
do as the Roman's do". After I became reacquainted with my friends
back at the car (we scheduled this rendezvous point if we managed to
lose one another), we were off to the bar. Back in Georgetown, we
found this really quaint bar named "1789." It was crowded, but it
was a fun place to be. The bar band sounded a lot like the Kingston
Trio and the beer really hit the spot. After a few delicious beers,
the fatigue that we were feeling hit us hard, so we all agreed to
find a place to crash. We could stay at the University again, but
one of the guys was a frat man, so we thought maybe our
accommodations would be better it we could find his Greek brothers'
fraternity house. After a few failed attempts, we found his Greek
house and we were received with smiles and open arms. After
watching, somewhat disappointingly, the media's coverage of the
Moratorium, we went directly to bed. I slept on the floor while the
boys took the couches. Everybody was glad to be sleeping in the
Greek house instead of the noisy dorm lobby.
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