Preparing to Protest

Four days was all three students had, but we ended up with 200 people at Saturday’s protest. I’ll be quite honest: I have no idea how three students got that many people organized.

But I do have some conjectures. And I’ll lay out the days leading to Saturday, November 15th’s protest.

MONDAY: While I’m registering for classes Anna texts me, “Hey u wanna do something fun with me?” With apathy I respond, “Eh?” Then, “You want to organize a protest for prop. 8 this Friday? They r doing a united states wide protest!” Now I’m interested. After about twenty minutes of planning via texts and Facebook we decide we need to sit down together.

We meet at Arsaga’s with Terra and (eventually) Megan. All four of us think of who to call and what do next. We decide to call Dead Swanky’s Hair Salon and figure out if we can protest in their parking lot. We have to make flyers. We must check on permits and stuff. Joey Ryan’s song “California” gives me inspiration and drive.

Later Monday night I’m on JointheImpact’s website and find information about an already-planned Fayetteville protest. We contact the NWA-GLBT group. They contact others. Eventually, I’m given the name of the other protest planner (aka Katie).

TUESDAY: I meet with Katie and Anna briefly in the bitter cold outside Mullins Library. We decide to keep both of our event pages separate, but agree on the same information. There will be a march from UA campus leaving at noon. We will head to City Hall to join the nation in protests at 12:30pm.

I desperately try to get ahold of the UA Pride group. No response.

Within two days the digital roof blows off. We’re getting emails, text messages, facebook messages, and phone calls. Everyone is very positive and up-beat. Everyone wants to be involved.

Tuesday night Katie calls me with a list of concerns. How will we keep people under control? Who will speak at the event? We still need speakers. How are those non-Facebookers going to get the information? Our flyers have incorrect/confusing information. Can we fix this? I give myself one hour to create a website and make a new flyer.

Almost two hours later we have a website with correct information, google maps showing the protest, and links to download flyers. This protest badly needed to be viral, and we needed everyone to pick up the slack that we just couldn’t undertake (putting up posters, inviting people to the Facebook event, etc.).

WEDNESDAY: I’m still trying to register for classes.

I get an email from UA Pride. The email doesn’t address the protest, just the UA Pride meeting. I’m infuriated. So, I respond.

I figure out that we don’t need a permit unless we plan to exceed the city’s sound limit. I also see our Facebook event growing, with over 50 people telling us they’re going to come to Saturday’s protest.

One of my classes has “jointheimpact.com” written on the wall. I have no clue who’s done this. It excites me that our efforts appear to be working.

THURSDAY: Katie thinks we need a press release to pass to local media. In the wee hours of Thursday, I’m drawing up a press release [.doc]. The Fayetteville Flyer is the first to carry news of Saturday’s protest.

After finding some rather vulgar comments about obtaining permits and the law I’m really concerned about my gay brothers and sisters. I keep thinking, “Please don’t be fools!”

I get in contact with local media and several have already heard about the event. This really excites me and I leave my contact information for interviews.

We get a beautiful poster from Craig Duttweiler, who’s affiliated with Join the Impact. The poster is amazing. The email that came with the poster spells out how we must get the word out and not to limit ourselves to just posting information on Facebook. We’re two days ahead of you, babe.

FRIDAY: One final message to all the Facebook members. I remind everyone to remain calm and not to get in the street. By this point I’m only concerned with people losing control and jumping in the street and attacking people in their cars. I even have a nightmare about the incident.

I have a flat tire. I run to yearbook and clock some hours. I am freaking out and shaking with excitement for Saturday’s protest. We’re only one day away and everything seems rather crazy. We continue to get emails from AR residents in different parts of the country. People keep thanking us for all the hard work we’re doing. Somehow I managed to keep all my homework in order.

By Friday evening our traffic to nwaequality.wordpress.com peaks. We had over 500 page views. These stats and our Facebook numbers blow my mind. More and more people are invited to the Facebook event. I find the posters we’ve designed crop up around campus. I have no clue how these things came to be. 

Friday night we have a poster-making party. My sign reads, “Freedom is mine, by force or peace, you decide.” It’s a tribute to Nina Simone and her song “Feeling Good” [iTunes].

SATURDAY: Anna, Katie, and I meet at the Farmer’s Market to set up a table for poster making. My face goes numb from the cold within five minutes. Some people come up. We chat with the baristas at the Arsaga’s tent. They’re going to leave us coffee and hot chocolate for the protest.

11:00 AM – Anna and I head to campus. There are three people sitting in the Union when we arrive. We decide to smoke outside of RZ’s. We’re nervous about the number of people that will show up. We’re worried that things could get out of hand. We’re worried no one will show up.

11:30 AM – Once back inside I walk around and talk to people. A lot more people have showed up by now. There are two girls from Fort Smith with wild grins on their faces. They tell me that nothing like this would ever happen in Ft. Smith. They’re excited to join Fayetteville. Reporters from UATV and KNWA show up and ask for interviews and the plan. Our plan was still hatching in our minds.

12:00 PM – Anna and I stand up on chairs and go over the march, down Dickson Street, right on Block Street. We’re heading to the Town Center. DON’T GET IN THE STREET!

image credit The Morning News

The march is amazing. My voice is fading as I yell “WHAT DO WE WANT?!” Anna and I are both on the verge of tears. There is a ridiculous smile on my face.

12:30 PM – Snow flakes fall from the sky. People are really happy. We make it to the Town Center and there are some great speakers.

1:15 PM – We begin the final march to Dickson and College and protest for an hour. An amazing drag queen “rallies some bitches” and everyone has so much energy for the 36-degree, windy day. People honk their car horns as they pass. We scream with excitement.

 

And that’s the story. I hope I didn’t bore you to death. Somehow, the people in Northwest Arkansas were enthusiastic and pumped to participate. We stomped with the nation on November 15th. It was quite grand!