Minneapolis Join the Impact Rally
Originally uploaded by swirlspice.
First, some basic information.
For ongoing information in the Join the Impact movement, go to jointheimpact.com. You can follow Join the Impact on Twitter: @jointheimpact. There’s additional (and I assume ongoing) information on organizing efforts at the Join the Impact wiki. This page was the hub for organizing Saturday’s protests. The wiki also has instructions on how to share your photos, videos, and stories. For more on local organizing efforts, you can also join the Impact Twin Cities – Marriage Equality Now! facebook group. The New York Times has a story on the nationwide protests with a mention of Minneapolis.
Originally uploaded by swirlspice.
Estimates of attendance at Saturday’s Minneapolis rally are varying wildly. I guessed there were about 1,000. That NYT article said “more than 1,000.” The Star Tribune said “more than 700.” One of the speakers said “a couple thousand” and that’s what they’ve posted on the facebook event page.
However many people were there, representatives from local activist and advocacy organizations, representatives of a couple lgbt-friendly religious organizations, and local politicians addressed the crowd. Nobody said anything new and different. It was chilly out (glad I wore my long underwear) and it didn’t help we were in the shadow of the government center. But the crowd was enthusiastic and the majority of those gathered took off marching towards Loring Park for “community-building” after the rally was over. I thought Minneapolis CouncilMember Gary Schiff gave the best speech. Focused, meaningful, relevant, and hopeful.
Originally uploaded by swirlspice.
I’ve not yet heard or seen anything on how the Saint Paul rally went.
I’d love to hear your take on yesterday’s events. Were you at the Minneapolis or the Saint Paul rally? What did you see? Leave a comment or, better yet, submit a post.
