Dayton leaders join march in Washington

Representatives from labor, civil rights encourage Democrats to vote

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story originally appeared in the Oct. 3, 2010, edition of the Dayton Daily News 

WASHINGTON — Dayton activists took their places among tens of thousands of people from labor, civil rights and other organizations who marched Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial in support of Democrats struggling to keep power on Capitol Hill.

“The 43 people on this bus wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” said Derrick Foward, president of the Dayton unit of the NAACP, one of those who rode to Washington on Friday night for the rally and headed back to Dayton on Saturday night.

Benjamin Todd Jealous, national president of the NAACP, a major organizer of the “One Nation Working Together” rally, urged the audience to return home and remind their friends and neighbors to vote in the Nov. 2 election.

The AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union, National Council of La Raza, USAction and the U.S. Student Association joined with the national Association for the Advancement of Colored People in backing the rally. Others who participated Saturday included church groups, environmental organizations, a miners’ union and activists supporting equality for gays and lesbians.

Published reports said that tens of thousands of people attended. The National Park Service did not offer a crowd estimate.

Commentator Glenn Beck attracted tens of thousands to his Washington rally in August as he urged conservatives to vote in November.

Organizers of Saturday’s rally hoped it will counter the activism and energy shown in recent months by Republicans and tea party supporters, who want voters to help the GOP win back control of Congress in next month’s election.

Tom Roberts, a former Ohio lawmaker from the Dayton area who organized this weekend’s trip from Dayton as political action chairman for the Dayton and Ohio NAACP groups, said those who made the journey with him and Foward have been asked to help get out the vote during the next four weeks.

Roberts served 22 years in the Ohio House and Senate as a Democrat. The NAACP, however, remains a nonpartisan organization, he said.

“This made me feel very inspired,” Roberts said of the rally. “There were a lot of young people there.”

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