Based on my observations at today’s Bans Off Our Bodies rally in Washington, D.C., I believe the abortion-rights movement must address the evident lackluster engagement if it is to prevail. Over the last two weeks, cable television, newspaper op-ed columnists, and mainstream podcasts have covered Justice Samuel Alito’s leaked opinion ad nauseum. With that level of media saturation, I expected at least 50,000 people to attend the rally taking place just to the north of the Washington Monument.

The turnout fell woefully short of my expectations. Somewhere along Constitution Avenue, I had a brief conversation with a woman from the George Washington University Medical Center, who was seated in a golf cart traveling the parade route. Given her seemingly official status, I asked her if she had a participant count. Without hesitating, she estimated 15,000. When I proposed the count was closer to 10,000, she noted that attendance estimates are not an exact science, acknowledging that I could be right.

Marches and rallies have two audiences. The first are those who fervently believe in the mission or cause. Organizers want to keep them energized. The second is the public at large. To capture their attention, the organizers need visuals that break through the conflicting demands on people’s attentions, which at a minimum means a large turnout. So let’s put today’s attendance figure into perspective.

On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous I Have a Dream speech while standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial with 250,000 gathered around him and the Reflecting Pool. Six years later, on November 15, 1969, over 750,000 people assembled for the Second Moratorium to End the Vietnam War. The National Mall saw countless demonstrations during the ensuing 20 years. Back in the day, there was no World Wide Web, which also meant that there was no Twitter, Facebook, or TikTok. Cheap air travel was still to come.

There certainly wasn’t the sort of infrastructure that now exists to promote and support mass rallies. Today, dozens of public relations and security firms specialize in promoting and managing public events. Those events utilize assemblages of LED display panels and sophisticated sound systems to enhance the experience of those in attendance. To assure a large turnout, the organizers can utilize text message, targeted web ads, and email campaigns. The word is now electronic rather than by mouth.

In the current era, some organizers have been able to generate huge turnouts by leveraging all the modern resources. On January 21, 2017, close to 500,000 people gathered for the Women’s March on Washington. A little over a year later, more than 200,000 people assembled on Constitution Avenue during the March for Our Lives demonstration, spearheaded by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students who fled for their lives during a mass-shooting incident a month earlier.

Today’s rather anemic turnout leads me to one conclusion. Although about 65% of the public supports access to abortion in some form, those rights apparently are not the hot-button issue that the more vocal pro-choice advocates believe them to be.

With those rights in peril, Planned Parenthood, NARL, the Women’s March, and other groups view the ballot box as the antidote to the conservative majority that now dominates the Supreme Court. But will all those who stayed home today view abortion rights as the determinative issue in the upcoming election? Or will inflation, the U.S. standing in the world, the threat to our democratic norms, gun control, or climate change be the issue that drives turnout?

I was particularly puzzled today by the lack of a draw. On Thursday, the New York Times published a petition signed by a 160 celebrities declaring that “We Will Not Go Back—And We Will Not Back Down.” Included were Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Megan the Stallion, and Olivia Rodrigo. Celebrities of this calibre are regularly seen walking the runway at the annual Met Gala or seated around the tables at the Annual White House Correpondents’ Dinner. Where were they today?

Congresswoman Barbara Lee did make a powerful speech, but where was Vice President Kamala Harris, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senator Elizabeth Warren, members of the Squad, and other prominent women politicians? Some undoubtedly were attending marches in their home states or districts, but the political class largely turned their backs on the march that carried the most symbolism: the one that ended at the United States Supreme Court. It was the march that led the network coverage of the day’s events.

And what about entertainers? Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Mahalia Jackson performed at the 1963 march. Also attending were Josephine Baker, James Baldwin, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, and Sidney Poitier.

Remember President Barack Obama’s first inauguration? On January 18, 2009, some 400,000 people were entertained at the Lincoln Memorial by the likes of Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Renee Fleming, Ashley Judd, Herbie Hancock, Bettye LaVette, John Legend, Pete Seeger, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Usher, and Stevie Wonder. Where were those entertainers today?

The abortion-rights movement has a big problem: It is not generating sufficient enthusiasm in those who are not already committed advocates.

Events Preceding the March. I arrived in Washington midday on Thursday. Once I checked into my hotel, I walked the four blocks to the Court. Between 10 to 15 demonstrators stood before the hideous black fencing circling the courthouse. Also present were two or three counter-demonstrators and one news crew. The two groups engaged in brief verbal skirmishes, but there was little likelihood of a violent confrontation.

I came back Thursday night just after the sun had set. The scene was picturesque despite the fencing. Except for the occasional Hill staffer heading home, nobody was around.

I returned Friday morning, first stopping at the Capitol’s westside, where Speaker Pelosi was holding a press conference at the foot of the steps leading to the House’s chambers. My media credentials for the march were worthless. Unless you were one of the journalists who regularly works the Capitol, you weren’t getting anywhere close to Pelosi. Given the demeanor of the Capitol Police, I could see that January 6 had changed how they handle security and view the public.

I then made the half-block walk to the Court, where a lone abortion-rights activist stood sentry. When I mentioned I had seen her the day before, she indicated that she felt duty-bound to show up each day, if only for half an hour. Happily, the mood was lifted by the appearance of a group of 8th graders from San Francisco who were making a spring pilgrimage to Washington. As is the case with teens today, the group snapped into formation for a photo op; this time with the abortion-rights activist. I presume some version of the photograph is now available on multiple Instagram feeds.

Over the years, as I have photographed civil rights demonstrations, I have wondered about the kids who are present, often with their parents. Do they believe in or even understand the cause? Undoubtedly some do, but I am a bit leery about parental indoctrination. In the case of the kids from San Francisco, were they in favor of abortion rights, or would they have just as readily posed with someone waving pro-life signage?

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It]

**Preparing Her Package for the Evening News**

**Asserting that Abortion is Black Genocide**

**Responding to the Claim that Abortion is Black Genocide**

**A Message to the Supreme Court Majority from a Neighbor**

**A Hopeful Sign for Abortion-Rights Advocates**

**The Democrats Head Back to the House Chambers Following Speaker Pelosi’s Press Conference**

**Eighth Graders from San Francisco Spontaneously Pose with an Abortion-Rights Advocate**

**Still Magnificent Despite the Double Fencing**

The Rally. The Rally began around 12:30 PM under cloudy skies. Fortunately for the organizers, the forecast had changed, pushing back the predicted 1:00 PM rainfall to 5:00 PM. Speaking with another photographer while walking down Constitution Avenue, I remarked at how empty the field was at 11:30 AM—maybe a 1,000 to 1,500 people. She agreed, expressing concern that the noon rally would be a bust. At 12:15 PM, the crowd began to expand quickly.

As noted, the program lacked celebrities and big-name performers and politicians. Those who took the stage did a respectable job, particularly the speakers I watched as well as heard. None of those read their speeches from their smartphones, as is often the case.

During the second half of the program, I circulated amongst the crowd, which thinned out as I approached the Washington Monument. I made my way over to the corner at Constitution Avenue and 14th Street. Five or six counter-demonstrators split between the northwest and southeast corners. I witnessed a couple of lethargic confrontations, but nothing that would produce a memorable photograph.

I also hit one of the Port-a-Potties—never pass up an opportunity, particularly when the more photogenic part of the day is about to begin.

**The U.S. Supreme Court on the Morning of the March**

**Some People Just Can’t Seem to Quit Him**

**Distributing Tee Shirts with a Smile**

**Kelly Robinson, VP Advocacy at Planned Parenthood of America, Delivers the Opening Remarks**

**Demanding Restrictions on the Second Amendment, Not on Her Vagina**

**Congresswoman Barbara Lee Speaks Forcibly**

The March. At about 2:00 PM the march stepped off the curb. It began with the Washington chapter of Brigata using their colorful drums to signal it was time to line up. I was particularly impressed with the chief of security, who supervised the rope line in front of the lead banner. Photographers were instructed to stay in back of what became a very taut rope. But the man in charge made a point of telling us that he respected what we were doing, assuring us that he would do everything within his power to make sure that we had plenty of photo ops. He clearly realizes that the success of any demonstration depends in large part on the visuals.

He kept his word. For good chunks of time, my gut was pressed against that yellow rope, while I walked backwards. He occasionally ordered those holding the rope to slow down, inviting the scrum of photographers to snap away.

It took about 45 minutes to reach the Court. I rushed ahead of the demonstrators so I could photograph them marching up what I dubbed Heartbreak Hill. It was hot and humid, and I was carrying three cameras as well as a flash, batteries, and another lens. Despite my regular exercise routine, the hill was a challenge.

At some point along the route, the District police handed off the marchers to the Capitol police, with a noticeable change in attitudes. I was ordered out of the street, and when I turned onto First Street (where the Court is located), I was ordered to stay on the sidewalk with everyone else.

The Capitol police had a strategy that became apparent as time passed. One officer told me that because this was a march, the demonstrators had to keep moving as they passed the Court—no congregating in the street. By taking that approach, the police assured that the marchers would disperse, either heading east down East Capitol Street, or south past the Library of Congress to Independence Avenue. For the most part, those who kept walking were members of the old guard and their family members.

After the official march came to an end, the Capitol police relented a bit. The more youthful marchers then congregated in the street directly in front of the Court, placing placards against the bicycle racks serving as barriers and hanging coat hangers on those racks.

At the conclusion of the march, people also hung coat hangers on the black fencing surrounding the Court. Many had messages attached, as if each assemblage was a personalized Christmas tree ornament. Disturbingly, the Court’s police force, behind and thereby protected by the fencing, knocked the hangers and the attached messages to the ground. So much for a little performance art carried out under the First Amendment. The police could easily have waited until 9:00 PM to clear the evidence that reflected the crowd’s displeasure with the Court.

**Two Commandments is All Anyone Needs**

**More Than a Shield Against the Weather**

**The Lead Banner Moves Up Constitution Avenue**

**Some Young People Sticking Around Outside the Court**

**Calling Out the Majority While Reminding People to Vote**

**Making Noise While Passing the Court**

**Murphy the Accidental Activist Takes a Stand**

**Letting Congress Know What They Think (and That They Do Think)**

Jesus Arrives. In my view, each side should avoid intervening in the other side’s rallies and demonstrations. For the most part, that was the case today. And why not? The pro-lifers appear to be on the verge of a historic victory that will likely take years to overturn. They didn’t need to stand outside today.

Yet, there was one lone man who caught my attention. He said he was from one of the Carolinas—I forget whether it was North or South. I hesitate to call him a counter-demonstrator. He was anything but antagonistic toward the demonstrators, instead, believing that he was there to save their souls from damnation. Unlike many counter demonstrators who come to taunt, this man had no interest in heaving expletives at the demonstrators, or in the case of men, questioning their masculinity, or telling the women that they are baby killers.

I spent about 45 minutes on and off watching the crowd interact with him. Those interactions reflect the intolerance of some demonstrators—certainly not the majority—who are unable to fathom that there are legitimate viewpoints contrary to their own. The obvious question: If you disagree with this man, why not simply shun him?

At one point, the Capitol police officer who seemed to be in charge pulled the man aside, suggesting he go home to avoid possible harm. The man immediately raised his First Amendment rights, which resulted in a lengthy exchange between the two. After several minutes, the officer headed over to the police on bicycles, ordering them to move in the man’s direction. I thought an arrest was imminent, but the officer then ordered the bicycle cops to surround the man, creating a protective barrier. I was impressed with the officer’s tact.

When I left, the bicycle cops were gone, but the man was still standing while he preached.

**Before the Bicycle Cops Surround the Man**

**After the Bicycle Cops Surround the Man I**

**After the Bicycle Cops Surround the Man II**

Actually a Somewhat Civil Disagreement, But Some Remain Incredulous

The Press. As I left, I encountered photojournalists from Reuters and the Associated Press. I had interesting conversations with both as they processed and uploaded their images. I felt particularly good when one of them told me that photographing today had been a challenge because the backgrounds were so chaotic, thereby making portraits difficult. My sentiment exactly. I subsequently saw some of her work in the Wall Street Journal and other publications. We must have been standing next to each other as we walked backwards up Capitol Hill. Our photographs of the lead banner were identical.

Jack Siegel is a Chicago-based photographer who traverses the streets of Chicago with camera in hand. Jack's practice includes architectural photography and urban landscapes.

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Jack Siegel is a Chicago-based photographer who traverses the streets of Chicago with camera in hand. Jack's practice includes architectural photography and urban landscapes.

Archive

May 14 Alito's Leak III

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