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Aurora Levins Morales’ cousin died in the World Trade Center attacks, but the poet told a crowd of about 500 people outside the downtown BART station late Monday afternoon that she refused to vent her rage on the Afghani people. 

“I can’t (ask for the lives) of those who are being bombed now,” she said, before reading parts of a poem she had written after the WTC attacks. 

The “BART alert” – the downtown BART has become a gathering place of sorts for activists over the years – was the second anti-war rally of the day in Berkeley. An earlier one had been held on campus. 

A sea of signs calling for “peace” and saying “war is not the answer” served as a backdrop for speakers who climbed up onto the bed of a blue pick-up truck that had been moved onto the plaza. The crowd heard 90-year-old Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek say: “War has never solved anything; we must negotiate at the table.”  

Middle East Children’s Alliance Director Barbara Lubin told the crowd she mourned the lives of those lost at the World Trade Center. “It was horrible,” she said underscoring, however, that to understand the whole picture, “You have to look at the politics in our country.”  

And KPFA-radio activist Jay Imani said: “I don’t stand with people who kill innocent people anywhere in the world. We oppose terrorism and rely on the strength of the people to set us free.” 

In one tense moment, about half-way through the short list of speakers, singers and poets, a man forced his way onto the pick up bed and demanded to speak. “I want my free speech rights,” he called out into the crowd. He was quickly surrounded by a group who convinced him to come down. One of those who surrounded him later said the man appeared sincere – he was an ardent person who passionately believed that war was right and wanted to have a turn to speak to the crowd. 

Other pro-war advocates were not apparent in the crowd, that began chanting while the interloper was debating those surrounding him – “One, two, three, four, we don’t want your racist war.” 

Once the last of the speakers had climbed down from the flat-bed stage, a large portion of the crowd filed behind a banner reading “Stop Bombing Afghanistan Now!” and began marching down Shattuck Avenue toward University Avenue with Berkeley police on motorcycles and bikes leading the way and directing traffic. 

With drums pounding and American flags with peace symbols instead of stars waving, it was more like a parade than a march. The demonstrators waited obediently at University until the light turned green, then proceeded to march west. The procession stretched for more than a block. 

Driving her electric wheelchair out in front of the banner, Berkeley City Councilmember Dona Spring said the march reminded her of a similar one in 1989. It was when then-mayor Loni Hancock led a march to the freeway in protest of the Gulf War, she said. 

“It’s not often we have the numbers to march down University,” Spring said, adding “It happens every decade at least.” 

People hanging out of their windows cheered the crowd on, commuters stuck in traffic because of the march honked in approval and wait-staff from Cafe Venezia came out of the restaurant to yell encouragement to the marchers. 

Then, as the demonstrators closed in on the University overpass, the three or four people at the helm consolidated everyone and made sure that the people holding the banner were out in front, “to look strong and united,” one of them said. 

There didn’t seem to be a plan, with Lubin asking someone, “Are we going take the freeway?” 

Nearly 30 Berkeley Police in riot helmets with batons in hand were there to prevent the procession from doing just that. The officers lined up and blocked off University in both directions as the marchers came close to the overpass, at the Sixth Street intersection.  

Several police cars, lights flashing, came up over the overpass and closed it off behind the police. For 10 tense minutes, police and protesters stood across the white lines of the crosswalk from each other. There were chants of “Whose street? Our street!” and police yelling forcefully for the demonstrators to step back. But with several people urging restraint on both sides, the crowd turned around and headed peacefully back up University without any arrests or clashes with police.  

Asked if she was afraid of the march turning violent, demonstrator Adrianne Aron of Berkeley laughed and remarked, “No, I was more afraid that as lemmings we were about to march into the Bay.” 

Forest Schmidt, an organizer of the event and a member of the International Action Center said he didn’t think there was ever a risk of violence. 

“I don’t think people were up to breaking through a police barrier.” 

The procession continued back up University, with chants of “FBI CIA Terrorists Made in the USA” to the BART station where it all began mare than two hours earlier. The dissipating crowd took over the intersection at Center Street and Shattuck for twenty minutes as those with bullhorns encouraged people to attend more protests in the days ahead.