Photo Essay: D.C. Free Palestine March

Nov 10

In the foreground, hundreds of free palestine protestors at the fence of the White House, many holding signs. It is dusk with palestine flags waving in the air and a bright light shining on the white house.

Washington D.C.
11.04.2023
Javi Jusino

As I pulled up to Freedom Plaza on your generic, big city “Rent-a-scooter”, (Don’t judge me, I had camera equipment and parked a few miles away) I couldn’t help but to see the overwhelming amount of Palestinian flags, “Free Palestine” signs and watermelon emojis all over downtown DC, throughout Chinatown and Pennsylvania ave. I arrived late and missed the bulk of the massive rally at Freedom Plaza, but arrived just in time for the march, as the broad coalition of Palestinian groups and organizers lined up on Pennsylvania ave with their banners in tow.

Media outlets later reported “Thousands” or at best, “Tens of thousands” of people came out to support, however, I noticed on multiple occasions people with keffiyehs (Palestinian shawl/scarf), Palestine flags or “Free Palestine” signs at varying places around Downtown DC and Penn Quarter. There was a steady rotation of people between the rally that began at 2pm and the march that didn’t begin until 4. I watched as myself and hundreds of others continually trickled in as the march began to take shape. It’s likely many of these people were excluded from the sheepish attendance estimates from ALL mainstream media outlets. I used to work sports stadium gigs and regularly see what 60,000 looks like on a weekly basis, and I know just from my own limited view from the ground I easily saw 100,000+ people. After reviewing arial footage, cross referencing different sources, livestreams and mapping my metadata, there could have easily been upward of 250,000 people participating in this historic demonstration.

My biggest takeaway of this day, was the incredible outpouring of support and solidarity from a wide variety of backgrounds. There were hundreds of faith leaders from many faiths; Imams, pastors, priests, Rabbis of many sects, many demonstrating in solidarity together. I was in awe at the volume of flags from a variety of nations, especially ones with settler colonial pasts or histories influenced by American imperialism. I was pleased to see my fellow Puerto Rican brothers, sisters and siblings show up in numbers, we sure know a thing or two about military occupation and colonialism. Many Indigenous folks from many backgrounds and regions came out in defense of Gaza, including leaders of the Lakota Sioux. Many student groups, unions and grassroots organizations came out to show their support.

The march ended at Lafayette Square on Pennsylvania Avenue, right in front of the White House. “FREE FREE PALESTINE!” could be heard echoing across the distance. Our presence was clearly undeniable this day.