Nov. 30 2009 was the World March New York City Day of Action. Under a cold rain, Carolina from Memoscopio joined the two thousand-person march over Brooklyn Brigde, from Brooklyn Borough Hall to Manhattan City Hall. The accounts we feature here tap into the experiences of six of these marchers, who included live-long peace and antinuclear activists, students from the Brooklyn International High School, members of cultural organizations, and organizers from Code Pink, Brooklyn for Peace, World Without Wars, Abolition 2000, and other groups. Charlotte and Shiela shared their testimonios while the groups of marchers gathered at the feet of the Brooklyn Borough Hall. After marching the Brooklyn Bridge, Jaimini, Veronica, and Robert shared their accounts during a rally and press conference outside of City Hall, while members of the Base Team met with Manhattan officials. Anand shared his testimonio after attending a Q&A session that brought together Pace University students and international marchers. Most of them finished the day at the World March Concert in Riverside Church where the keynote speaker was Dr. Bernard Lafayette of the civil rights moment.
The theme of inter-generational collaborations is central to their accounts, probable because peace activism in New York tend to be dominated by groups of largely middle-aged organizers. Shiela, Charlotte, Veronica, Jaimini, Robert, and Anand speak of how the involvement of young people in the March creates possibilities for peace in the future. Their account describe the March and its transnational nature as source of inspiration and the demonstration that things could be different. A sense of possibility opens up as their local efforts are linked to a larger global community of protesters, to the actions of new generations of future protesters, and to a movement of large scale and length.