I lost my voice during Forward on Climate, and I wasn’t even braving the cold in DC like 40,000+ amazing climate activists were. I was in sunny San Francisco (not to rub it in), standing on a corner outside of One Market Plaza, where a U.S. Department of State office is located, cheering over a brass band while serving as a monitor for a nearly 5,000 person solidarity march. Organized by over 70 Bay Area environmental and social justice organizations, this action was one of two dozen or so solidarity events that took place in conjunction with the big DC action on February 17th.
So much support came in from all across the nation, with each city adding their own local twist to the #noKXL message. In Medford, Oregon, artists constructed a giant salmon made of over 1200 recycled cardboard tiles. Actor Ed Begley Jr. emceed for a 1,000+ person rally in Los Angeles and another thousand marched in Denver. St. Paul, Minnesota, sent off a DC-bound train full of folks in style by hosting a press conference inside the Amtrak station. Iowans across the state started their weekend by hand-delivering letters to their representatives. In Chicago, where President Obama previously served as a state senator and community organizer, hundreds of students marched to a U.S. Department of State office. Washington state made it a week of action. And the list goes on and on!
Medford’s giant salmon. Photo by Rory Finney.
The quantity and quality of these solidarity events is a true testament to the power of a national movement united for climate action. And with modern technology and social media the thousands of miles of distance between DC and where I was in San Francisco didn’t even feel that far; we were all standing together for the same vision. I ended the day with the most profound love and respect for the climate movement as I’ve ever felt and my feelings only grow stronger each time I see the photos we’ve received from all of these actions.
I invite you to check out these photos for yourself here! And if you have any from a solidarity action you attended we would love to add them to the album – just email them as an attachment to [email protected] with your location as the subject line.