Winter/Spring 1999
A More Perfect Union
It was still dark at 6:30am December
17th when some 70 citizens gathered
at the White Dog Cafe and boarded two buses for
Washington, DC. Three days before, Jesse Jackson
had called for a march on the capitol to protest
the House impleachment proceedings against
President Clinton. "This is the leadership we've
needed," I thought, "Let's go." Soon the White
Dog office was abuzz as we chartered a bus and
began phoning our customers. The first bus
filled quickly. Our plans made the news and word
spread across the city reaching a new
constituency.
Late in the afternoon, on the day before we
were to leave, the President announced his
decision to begin bombing Iraq the next morning.
Should we call off the trip? As a person
committed to peace through peaceful means, would
it be wrong to show support for the President on
this day? The phone began ringing again, this
time with cancellations. I respected their
decision. We called Chicago and found the
Jesse's buses were on the road to Washington. He
deserved our support. What was the real issue?
This was not just about our President, it was
about the Presidency. I decided that we must go,
but even as I climbed on board the bus in the
morning, I felt conflicted.
As the buses rolled south, we got to know who
had come with us. Ranging in age from
twenty-something to seventy-something, our group
represented a cross section of neighborhoods
from South Philly to North Philly, to the Main
Line. Some had come in groups and pairs, and
many had come alone. Appointments had been
cancelled, meetings moved, deals delayed,
classes skipped, childcare rearranged. Several
were veterans of past White Dog trips, but many
had never been to a protest before, nor even
been to the cafe. Several of our customers who
couldn't go had sent money to cover the fare for
those with limited income, of which there were
many. Our neighbor down the street at the Irish
tavern had contributed generously. Four of us
from the White Dog were on board, two on each
bus to help lead the way. Others who couldn't
come, had contributed cookies and hot spiced
cider.
As we neared the Capitol, we merged with many
other buses and soon were among thousands on the
Capitol steps holding signs and banners. My
favorite was a giant picture of Kenneth Starr
which said, "Big Brother is Watching You." The
program began and we cheered on one inspiring
speaker after another: the head of the Black
Farmers Association, the president of United
Mine Workers, activists from NOW, a youth leader
of the Junior NAACP, a rabbi, ministers - black,
white, Latino, Asian, women, gays, old, young,
disabled - it was indeed the Rainbow
Coalition.
Out of the Capitol building, from the front
lines of the impeachment battle, came John
Conyers and Maxine Waters of the House Judiciary
Committee, realizing defeat in their outnumbered
partisan battle, but uplifted by our large
turnout and the political future we represented.
As I watched the diverse crowd, including large
numbers of white union men, cheering on the
black leadership and applauding the feminists, I
realized something was changing. THe real
majority was emerging, the "wedge" strategy used
to separate us falling. The strength of our
newfound unity arched boldly toward a brilliant
future, and in the distance shone not a pot of
gold, but the glory of the America that could
be. Where people, not money, make decisions in
Washington. Even as I grieved for the people of
Iraq, on this day when bombs were falling, I
knew that if ever there be the power to change
our national priorities from building bombs to
buying boks, surely it was present here today,
in this place, in this new majority - a rainbow
of great beauty and hope.
It was dark again when the buses arrived
home, but we were bright with the joy of
camaraderie and eager for the next trip on a new
day. We had gone in defense of our Constitution
adn returned home empowered as "We the
People."
Judy
Wicks
