Scripps Howard Foundation Wire

 WASHINGTON

– Downtown subway stations pumped out crowds of visitors for several hours Saturday. They carried posters and flags for the One Nation rally held at the Lincoln Memorial.

    “People need to realize that the only way the nation will get better is by bringing American jobs back to the country,” Shelley Cardenas, a member of United Auto Workers, said. She flew in from Denver.

    Cardenas waited in the stuffy Metro tunnel for the next train along with Todd Hill and other members of UAW.

    “Too many jobs are going overseas,” Hill said.

    When the crowds reached the National Mall, event volunteers greeted them with a “good morning” and directions to the Lincoln Memorial. A variety of organizations lined the streets, offering posters and banners to those without any.

    One Nation brought more than 400 progressive organizations, including the National Urban League, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Women’s Action for New Direction, to the nation’s capital.

    Among the issues they supported are more jobs in the U.S., better education standards in public schools and equal opportunities for minorities, gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people.

    It was no mistake that the rally was scheduled for one month to the day before the midterm elections. Speakers emphasized the importance of showing up to vote.

    Laarni San Juan jumped on a 5½ hour flight from San Francisco to make the demonstration. Like the other members of the National Nurses United around her, she wore red medical scrubs.

    “As public sector, we are always the first to have our jobs cut,” San Juan said, “I need to take care of my job because the government can’t seem to get it together.”

    Jean Friday, 85, is a national board member of the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees. She traveled from Clairton, Pa., to advocate for jobs.

    “We want our children and grandchildren to have the same American Dream we did,” Friday said, surrounded by some of the 65 senior citizens that comprise SOAR.

    The numerous speakers to take the stage included minority group advocates, comedians and poets. They were of different races, cultures and faiths, but they all spoke about America to Americans. Some of the most notable speakers included activist Jesse Jackson, Baptist minister Al Sharpton, MSNBC host Ed Shultz and Charlie Hill, a Cherokee Indian whose comedy poked fun at the relationship between American Indians and European immigrants.

    Imams, rabbis and reverends shared a crowd of thousands.

    “We may have come to this land in a different ship, but we are all now in the same boat,” Imam Khalid Griggs said. He is the spiritual leader of the Community Mosque in Winston-Salem, N.C.

    “Working people deserve a working chance. We will not remain silent,” said the Rev. Carroll Baltimore, senior pastor of the International Community Baptist Churches from Gainesville, Va.

    “This is the most impressive rally I’ve ever been to,” Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., said as he strolled toward the steps of the memorial.

    At the age of 14, Jessica Serna picked grapes in the fields of California with her parents. When she was 16, she packed peaches and nectarines. Now 19, she studies at Georgetown University and is the co-chair of the Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán.

    “There are a lot of issues since the time of the civil rights movement that people have put on pause,” Serna said.

    She said the best way to deal with those issues was through the union of the many groups affected by oppressive laws and regulations.

    “The time is now. We need to move forward,” she said.

    Saturday morning, her group joined members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at the front gates of Georgetown University. Together, they marched to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.