Peace Marches Draw Tens of Thousands Nationwide

NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2007 — -- Carrying signs such as "U.S. Out of Iraq Now! No War on Iran!" "Bring My Soldier Home" and "Money for Education Not War," about 10,000 anti-war protesters marched in the rain today in New York.

It was one of 11 such protests around the country taking place in cities from Los Angeles to Boston.

"We're doing a national demonstration in the form of regional action," said Leslie Cagan, national coordinator for the activist group United for Peace and Justice, which organized today's protests. "We know opposition to the war is widespread, so instead of inviting everyone to march on Washington, we're trying to make it as easy as possible for a large number of people to be out on the streets."

But getting people out on the streets has proved increasingly difficult since the large protests leading up to war. In the spring of 2003, hundreds of thousands turned out to march in New York, Washington and elsewhere, but those numbers have dropped off sharply in the past couple of years. A United for Peace and Justice rally in New York last March turned out only 10,000 protestors.

New York organizers hoped for 75,000 marchers today, but police estimated the crowd was significantly smaller -- saying only around 10,000 braved a rainstorm that may have kept others at home. (United for Peace and Justice estimated that 45,000 marched in New York.) In Los Angeles and San Francisco, organizers said about 15,000 turned out for the protests.

But fewer people in the streets does not necessarily mean fewer protestors, according to Paul Lichterman, an expert on grassroots politics at the University of Southern California.

"Protest has diversified since the anti-Vietnam war days," Lichterman said. "Marching down the street or occupying buildings are not the only means of protest ... Now, many thousands of people express their opposition to the current administration's war policies by donating money online."

"Then there are the millions of people who voted for a Democratic Congress, likely in part as a sign of opposition to the war policies," Lichterman added. "Some Americans may figure that the broader movement against the Iraq war has some space in official, institutional channels."