MLK Rally

We walked in the three-mile march from Huston-Tillotson College, a historically black university located in east Austin, to the very white University of Texas campus, via MLK Jr. Blvd. The irony doesn't escape me.

Neither does the fact that the university has become even less diverse since the 10% admission rule took effect, or that George W. Bush, who was governor of Texas at that time, is now suing the University of Michigan, saying their affirmative action-based admission policies are illegal, and that there are "better ways." If there are better ways, Dubya hasn't found them yet -- witness my beloved university.

The news reported that 5,000 people marched, but it felt like far more than that. Witness the huge number of people behind me, and imagine the same number in front of me. Part of the crowd was present solely for the purpose of demonstrating against war in Iraq. They must have affected the numbers somewhat.

I felt a bit as though the peace demonstrators were hijacking the event for their own purposes, though the tinge of my conscience was alleviated when I saw that most of the protestors were carrying signs that asked for peace but kept within the context of MLK Day. We carried our signs and held them up over I-35 at the overpass. It's a view I've never seen before.