"I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours." –Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., April 4, 1967, Riverside Church, New York City.

Nearly four decades after Dr. King’s historic speech on the Vietnam War, we are marching again, this time to stop the war in Iraq. On April 29, I joined with hundreds of thousands of people in a March for Peace, Justice, and Democracy in New York City. It was an experience I won’t soon forget.

I found myself in a vast sea of people in colorful caps and t-shirts, their banners and signs bobbing up and down. People flowed in from all directions—African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and whites; young and old; families with children; men and women. We represented military families, veterans, students, teachers, union members, immigrant workers, feminists, environmentalists, and the faith community.

We came from all over the country—from the entire East Coast, the Midwest, and as far away as California. There was a bus from Milwaukee organized by Peace Action-Wisconsin, and three union buses from Chicago organized by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

We came together for a common purpose—to stop the war. The military families and veterans said it best, “Bring the troops home now, and take care of them when they get here!”

The march kicked off with a rally featuring Roger Toussaint, President of Transit Workers Union Local 100, who had been jailed following a transit workers strike. Welcomed as a hero, Toussaint issued a strong denunciation of both wars—the war in Iraq and the war against working people and unions here at home.

A delegation from Military Families Speak Out and Iraq Veterans Against the War demanded the immediate return of our troops as the only meaningful way to support them. There were veterans from previous wars, family members of active-duty soldiers, and friends and family of those killed in Iraq.

John Wilhelm of UNITE HERE thanked USLAW for organizing what turned out to be the largest antiwar labor contingent in U.S. history. Wilhelm and Toussaint took their places behind the USLAW banner, joined by thousands of union members from the AFT, AFSCME, CWA, SEIU, NEA, IBEW, USWA, UE, UAW, Teamsters, OPEIU, and LCLAA.

With strains of “We Shall Overcome” and “Solidarity Forever” sung by the New York Labor Chorus ringing in our ears, we were fired up and ready to go.

Gold Star mother Cindy Sheehan, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Susan Sarandon led the march down Broadway, joined by Faiza Al-Araji, a peace and women's rights advocate from Iraq. It was a vast jostling throng, chanting and singing, that filled Broadway for as far as the eye could see. When we arrived at Foley Square two hours later, there were still people waiting to step off.

Organizers estimate that 350,000 people joined the March for Peace, Justice and Democracy. It was historic, bringing together the peace, labor, social justice, immigrant rights, women’s, and environmental movements. Mobilized to end the war in Iraq, and to support the rights and dignity of all people, including immigrants, the march was a powerful show of unity, and a powerful demand for a change in our national priorities.

It was organized by United for Peace and Justice, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, National Student and Youth Peace Coalition, Climate Crisis Coalition, the People’s Hurricane Relief Fund, Friends of the Earth, National Organization for Women (NOW), USLAW, and Veterans for Peace. Both AFT-Wisconsin and the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO endorsed the march, as well as the Milwaukee County Labor Council.

Roger Toussaint and John Wilhelm