Brad Newsham, the activist who organized over a thousand people for the memorable Impeach at the Beach demonstration (check the link for some pictures and video) in San Francisco a few weeks ago, is planning to spell out the message beside the Washington Monument tomorrow. The plan, as in the S.F. action, is for people to lie down in the grass to spell out the message with a photographer at the top of the Monument to document it.
Brad is a great guy and very organized at this stuff. For the S.F. action he had alerted local news stations and we got some good coverage from copters and reporters they sent.
Below is Brad’s email, just received:
IMPEACH FLASHMOB — SATURDAY, JAN 27, 11:50 a.m., National Mall, Washington DC
(Gather on sidewalk, Monument side of 14th Street, at the National Mall, by
11:50 a.m.)On Saturday, Jan 6 — just three weeks ago — 1,000 people lay down on the beach
in San Francisco and with their bodies spelled out the message “IMPEACH!” in
100-foot letters. The story and photos (with the Golden Gate Bridge in the
background) went worldwide – front page of the Christian Science Monitor.On Saturday, Jan 27, we are going to repeat the event here in Washington on the
National Mall at noon. Please come and be part of this historic event — meet
at 11:50 a.m. just east of the Washington Monument – specifically, on the
sidewalk on the Monument side of 14th Street. A photographer at the top of the
Washington Monument will take a picture of 1,000 of us lying down in the grass,
spelling out “IMPEACH!” with the Capital Dome in the background. Please
come – bring anyone and everyone you can.We need 1,000 people to fill the lettering, but can accommodate thousands more.
It will be a bang-bang affair — no more than 15 minutes from start to finish.
If we pull this off, it will be huge (possibly NY Times, Washington Post,
etc…) and it will be historic. Don’t be late — arrive by 11:50 a.m., look
for volunteers handing out flyers with directions, follow the flyer’s
directions and also the voice commands of the nearby volunteers. Stay off the
grass, keep to the sidewalk, until the ropes that outline the lettering are in
place. At 12 o’clock sharp, if all goes as planned, you will see a volunteer
in the middle of the crowd raise a green flag. Walk slowly please into the
lettering that you will see outlined in ropes and lie down (it’s a good idea,
but not necessary, to bring a small tarp or blanket to lie down on), and wait
until you see the red flag indicating that the photographers up in the Monument
have gotten what they need, and that the event is over.Volunteers Needed – If you can volunteer to help out with this event, please
come to a meeting in the “Federal Room” at the Hotel Washington (515, 15th
Street@ Pennsylvania Ave.), 7-9 pm Friday night, Jan 26th. Or call Brad Newsham
at 415-305-8294.THANK YOU! Please send this to anyone you know who is in Washington this
weekend…!
(Situation is set, but fluid. For current updates call 510-277-5241)
