Although it was raining most of the day, the United for Peace and Justice Anti-war rally at Lake Eola in Orlando, Florida, had a really good turnout. There were many speakers at the event, maybe too many, but the testimony given by Iraqi war veteran Clifton Hicks made it all worth it, as his accounts of what happened during his deployment in Iraq moved many to tears.

As the march started, the skies opened up and a deluge of rain came down. The marchers moved through the streets undeterred, and at about a mile into the march, came upon a small group of pro-war protesters that call themselves the Gathering of Eagles. These self proclaimed “real Americans” yelled hateful phrases and gave the old middle finger salute to everyone as they walked by. This conflict was pretty much over before it started, because the ratio of anti-war protesters to pro-war protesters was so great.

What: United for Peace and Justice Anti-war National Mobilization
When: October 27th 2007
Where: Orlando, Florida at Lake Eola [link]


Speakers Include:
Michael Albert - activist, author of "Remembering Tomorrow: From SDS to Life After Capitalism" & founder of Z-Magazine
Lucas Benitez - Coalition of Immokalee Workers
Debra Booth - AFL-CIO & Central Florida Labor Council
Congresswoman Corrine Brown
Scott Camil - Veteran for Peace
Michael Canney - Green Party of Florida, Co-Chair
Matt De Vlieger - SDS @ UCF (M.C. of the day)
Denise Diaz - Central Florida Jobs with Justice
Senator Mike Gravel - Anti-war Candidate for President '08
Clifton Hicks - Iraq veteran against the war (IVAW)
Jesse Kern - Veterans for Peace (Korean War Veteran)
Omar Masri - Speaker from UFPJ Steering Committee
Peg McIntire (97yo) - Grandparents for Peace, St. Augustine
David Rucker - Metropolitan Democratic Black Caucus & former President of the Orange County NAACP
Bruce Wright - St. Pete for Peace
Lydia Vickers - CodePink