December 19, 2015
On Dec. 13, a large group of people gathered in front of Ann Arbor’s downtown post office. People with megaphones yelled at people with signs which read “Vote for Bernie,” “This is a crisis” and “Climate Justice 4 All.” There were people of all ages, from grandparents to young children dressed in warm-weather outfits ready to walk for climate justice.
As they marched, onlookers watched from their cars and the streets. Some observers looked puzzled while others honked in agreement. The protesters walked in the Michigan Climate March amongst volunteers who stood out wearing orange shirts. They helped to hand out small posters, continue the repetitive chants and make sure the crowd followed the traffic laws.
As the assembly walked past the library, down to Main Street, past the shops on Liberty and restaurants on State, past the University of Michigan Art Museum and through the east entrance of the diag, they continuously vocalized various phrases. Some chants were taught at the beginning of the march; some were picked up quickly as a few people began the chant. Most of the chants were about climate change such as, “Hey hey, ho ho fossil fuels have got to go,” and “One – we are the people. Two – we are the future. Three – we will not let you kill our planet,” but some were about social activism in general such as, “Show me what democracy looks like, this is what democracy looks like.”
When the group finally reached the center of the diag at the steps of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library, near the ‘M’, speeches took over the rally. The people who spoke were from a variety of backgrounds. Politician Yousef Rabhi, from the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, who is a candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives, was the first speaker. He was followed by Rev. Gail Geisenhainer, Senior Minister from the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Ann Arbor, Professor Ivette Perfecto, from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment and representatives from the University of Michigan student organization “100 by 50.”
Rabhi spoke about how scientists and engineers now have the technologies to get away from using carbon, but the only way to make changes is through political action. “Let us march to every door in Michigan, let us march to the ballot box, let us march on the streets of Lansing, of Washington, on the streets of Paris, and let us march with the force of history behind us,” Rabhi said. He mentioned how we are fighting for our future and what our future needs to be. “It is a future where we are free from carbon fuels, where we have converted to renewable energies, where we have kept the carbon in the ground where it belongs.”
The University of Michigan student organization that helped put on the march, vocalized their goals of having 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, similar to the goal of the Michigan Legislature which is 20 percent by 2022.
Although this march wasn’t physically too big to contain, the amount of people who knew about it was much bigger than those who happened to be in downtown Ann Arbor on Saturday afternoon. People were constantly taking photos and videos. Whether it was for their Snapchat stories or their Twitter profiles, this march was shared. Through social media the audience of the march was greatly expanded, meaning that it was even bigger than it appeared to be.
Naz • May 11, 2016 at 2:07 am
It is important to show what we feel about significant events around us to both raise awareness and force authorities to do something about it. But showing our reaction is best done in an organised way and by following the law, the volunteers that helped control the crowd made sure the walk was done in a peaceful way. Peacefulness has more effect on outsiders that watch because they can make sure these people are on the right side of the fight