Wind swept over empty combat boots and civilian shoes lying on the lawn at MCC - Penn Valley on the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Protestors Gather

A crowd of approximately 300 people (comprised mostly of white, lower- to middle-class, middle-aged Kansas City area residents) circled the empty footwear, which signified troops and civilians who have died in the Iraq war. They were gathering publicly, and peacefully, to vent their frustrations over the war in Iraq and to share their hopes that the war would end soon.

The tails of Congressman Emanuel Cleaver's sport coat jaunted playfully in the wind as he approached the microphone, but his facial expression and posture exemplified the serious nature of the event. It was March 18, 2007, and Kansas City's former mayor and current fifth-district federal representative was ready to speak to Missouri citizens about the baffling debates taking place in Washington, D.C.

"The truth of the matter is, in reality, in Washington, D.C., we have made the most monumental foreign policy faux pas in the history of this republic," Cleaver said. "If we don't stop this war, and stop it soon — I'll tell you — we're going to have a nation so divided and polarized and paralyzed politically, that it is going to damage our ability to come together for decades to come."

Rep. Cleaver

As Cleaver spoke, anti-war protesters lined Southwest Trafficway, holding signs and waving to passing motorists. Often, the motorists honked in support of the protesters. There were also a few who waved with only one finger in the air. But, one protester noted, "There have been very few of those this year."

Regarding the role that the average U.S. citizen has played during the last four years of war, Cleaver said, "Americans are going shopping, and to the movies, and ice skating, and baseball.... This war has been fought entirely on the shoulders of the young men and women who are on the ground in Iraq, and their families who nervously await their return. Most of America is not involved. Most of America is watching it on television. Most of America doesn't have any idea about what's going on. We are not making any sacrifices."

He encouraged audience members to go home to their computers and begin sending emails "to everybody you know in Congress, and people you don't know. Just send them and tell them you want out."

While Cleaver's speech received a satisfied reaction from most of the war protesters, not all of the attendees were content with the sense of gravity that Cleaver sought to convey. Fran Stanton, a local business owner and activist, explained, "I could've done without most of Cleaver's speech. I felt that it was full of rhetoric."

Rev. Thompson

The opening speaker for the peace rally was Joe Carr, a former student at Center High School in Kansas City. Carr visited Palestine in 2003 to work with the International Solidarity Movement; in May 2005, he traveled to Baghdad, where he met with Iraqi anti-occupation activists. Carr's message to attendees was that Americans must resist imperial colonialism worldwide and the U.S. occupation of foreign lands.

Concerning Iraqi citizens who are currently resisting U.S. occupation, Carr said, "It is our responsibility to stand with them and to join them in their struggle. They are risking their lives every day — every day fighting against occupation and continuing to struggle for their lives. And we here [in the U.S.] are benefiting from the privileges that are built upon the backs of indigenous people... Our military and corporations massacre indigenous people, all for the benefit of us."

Reverend Fuzzy Thompson, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, was the second guest speaker of the day. Thompson urged citizens to unite in order to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

"Our president... came up with this idea of a 'surge,' which is really no more than an escalation of the war. That's clear to me that this is a president, this is an administration, this is a Congress that really doesn't have a clue. They're going to continue these war policies as long as we remain silent, and as long as we remain divided," Thompson said.

Several other guest speakers were present, including Missouri State Senator Jolie Justus and Kansas State Senator Chris Steineger. Justus explained that the war in Iraq is not just a federal issue, but that debates regarding the war should be taking place on a local level as well.

"Beyond the intolerable human losses, we have spent — Missouri and Kansas combined — almost ten billion dollars on this war... These are dollars that we could have been spending on childcare subsidies, on sending our kids to college. But instead, we're spending it on a war that we all know cannot be won," Justus said.

Near the front entrance of the Carter Arts Center, photocopied flyers filled with facts and figures pertaining to the war in Iraq were spread upon tables. A roulette wheel that displayed possible outcomes for those who choose to enlist in the armed forces was erected between two of the tables. Nearby, urging people to think twice before committing to the armed forces, stood American Friends Service Committee representative Laura Partridge.

PTK Students Jill Street and Dermidio Juez Perez

"[We are] urging all young people to know what their options are — that they don't have to go into the military. And if they are going to do that, to know what is involved, and to look at the material that defines for you what steps you should take before you enlist," Partridge said.

With the exception of Phi Theta Kappa honors society students who helped to organize and monitor the event, very few Penn Valley students were present at the peace rally. In general, only a meager number of protesters between the ages of 18-25 were in attendance to show their support.

However, among the crowd were Luke Holsinger (age 13), his two younger brothers Eli and Jordan, and their friend Eden. All four children used handmade posters with characters from Dr. Seuss and the Lord of The Rings to send their own personal message to President Bush. Luke's protest sign read: "Frodo has failed. Bush has the ring."

Following the rally, approximately 70 of the anti-war protesters caravanned to the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Missouri. The motorists, who were encouraged to decorate their vehicles with messages of peace and defiance, departed from Penn Valley around 3:30 pm. The purpose of the caravan was to declare that the production of weapons used for killing humans would not be tolerated within the communities of the Greater Kansas City area.

The peace rally and caravan were sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa, The American Friends Service Committee, and the Kansas City Iraq Task Force.

Here are the links to the websites of some of the people and organizations mentioned in this article, or who were present at the peace rally on March 18:

Congressman Emanuel Cleaver: http://www.house.gov/cleaver/index.shtml

Missouri State Senator Jolie Justus: http://www.senate.mo.gov/07info/members/mem10.htm

Kansas City Iraq Task Force: http://www.kciraqtaskforce.org/

American Friends Service Committee: http://www.afsc.org/

International Solidarity Movement: http://www.palsolidarity.org/

MCC - Penn Valley Phi Theta Kappa: http://mcckc.edu/pennvalley/ptk/

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